Woman who suffered heart attack aged 46 reveals unexpected symptoms she experienced but dismissed
Topics: Health, Social Media, TikTok
Lucy Devine
Featured Image Credit: TikTok/martyandnikki
Topics: Health, Social Media, TikTok
A woman who suffered a heart attack in her forties, despite having no medical history, has revealed the symptoms she experienced but dismissed as something else.
Recording a video from her hospital bed, Nikki - who goes by @martyandnikki on TikTok - explained that in hindsight, she had started to notice some signs around a week prior.
"These were MY symptoms because people asked. This doesn’t mean they’re the same as everyone else. I did think I was experiencing indigestion until I didn’t," said Nikki.
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A heart attack occurs when the blood supply to the heart is blocked, often by a clot.
For Nikki, who is 46 and had no medical history relating to heart issues, it came as a total shock.
"Two days ago, I had a heart attack," she said.
"I have no previous medical conditions... I had some warnings approximately a week before."
Nikki explained that around a week before her heart attack, she woke up with some left shoulder pain, which felt as though she'd been 'sleeping on it wrong'.
At first, she first thought it was a frozen shoulder caused by perimenopause, which refers to a range of symptoms experienced in the years prior to menopause.
"The day before I had my heart attack I woke up in the morning, my shoulder was sore and I felt like I was going to throw up," she said.
"It really only took me about 15 minutes to get over that and then I went about my day as normal."
Nikki explained that on the day she had the heart attack, she again woke up with shoulder pain, and felt as though she was going to vomit.
"The morning of my heart attack, I woke up and my shoulder was sore, I felt like I was going to throw up, I went and got some coffee, I sat back down for a second and it started to feel like my chest was kinda tight and like someone was squeezing it," she said.
Nikki explained that her shoulder pain began to radiate down her arm, after which she told her husband Marty not to go to work, explaining that she would take a shower first to see if she felt better, which she did.
With Nikki's symptoms improving, the pair decided Marty would leave for work, meanwhile Nikki had a doctor's appointment booked for around 10am.
By the time she arrived at the clinic, her symptoms had subsided, but she was told to go straight to the emergency room if they returned.
After her appointment, Nikki went to a restaurant to have lunch with her daughter, but as soon as she left, she noticed the symptoms returning.
"By the time I went from the restaurant to maybe a few doors over to a store, I probably was experiencing a full heart attack," she said.
"The arm pain was radiating all the way down, my chest felt like it was being squeezed as tight as you could squeeze it.
"I started to feel sick again."
Nikki explained she was one street over from the emergency room and was unsure whether to drive or call for an ambulance.
However, after deciding driving would get her there quicker, she immediately jumped in the car and set off.
When Nikki arrived at the ER, she started experiencing 'extreme sweating', meanwhile she described her arm pain as a transcending into a 'numbing feeling' rather than a pain.
Luckily, Nikki was able to receive medical aid straight away and is now on the road to recovery.
According to Mayo Clinic, the symptoms of a heart attack can include chest pain; upper body pain; shortness of breath; anxiety; lightheadedness; sweating; nausea and vomiting and heartburn or indigestion.
However, in women it can be slightly more vague, 'such as nausea or a brief or sharp pain felt in the neck, arm or back'.