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Does the Arm Pain Signal a Heart Attack? 8 Facts You Need to Know

As you get old, there is a variety of aches and aches your body often suffer from. While an arm pain can be a common condition that is caused by many causes, it would also be a major symptom of a serious heart attack. “Does the Pain in your arm (left arm) signal a heart attack or is it just a normal ache?” Not everyone can identify the differences and seek proper, immediate treatment. In this post, we’ll show you some basic things about arm pain caused by heart attack and how to spot it.

The association between a heart attack and an arm pain

In general, a heart attack is the damage or death of a part of your heart muscles because these areas lack oxygen to operate. Most of these cases occur when your coronary arteries are narrowed due to the accumulation of fatty plaques and cholesterol. When a piece of these plaques breaks loose from these artery walls, it would cut off the flows of oxygen-rich blood to your heart, which eventually leads to a heart attack.

Arm pain is known as one of the most common signs of a heart attack. The association between an arm pain and a heart attack seems unusual to many people because the muscles of arms aren’t being damaged. However, the main reason for this comes from two groups of nerves that are responsible for carrying signals from your heart and your arm to the same area of your brain. As a result, it will confuse your brain about the main source of the signals, which results in the pains from your heart attack being felt like an arm pain instead of a pain in your chest.

However, keep in mind that this is just the initial symptom of a heart attack. If you are suffering from a serious condition, the pain would spread to your chest and cause many heart-related signs as mentioned in the following session. Also, not all arm pains are associated with a heart attack. In fact, there is a variety of other reasons for your arm muscle pain such as pressure due to physical activities, anxiety, and some other health issues. [1] [2]