Heart Attack or Acidity? How to Tell Them Apart

Chest discomfort after a meal is often blamed on acidity, indigestion, or heartburn. In many cases, that may be the reason. However, a heart attack can sometimes cause symptoms that feel very similar to indigestion. Knowing the difference is important because a heart attack needs immediate medical treatment.

“The difficulty is that there is no reliable way to diagnose the cause of chest pain based on symptoms alone. If there is any doubt, it is safer to seek urgent medical help rather than assume it is acidity,” shares Dr Deebanshu Gupta, Interventional Cardiologist at Sarvodya Hospital, Jalandhar.

What Does Acidity Usually Feel Like

Acidity, often linked to acid reflux or heartburn, happens when stomach acid moves upwards into the food pipe. It can cause a burning sensation behind the breastbone, particularly after eating.

Common symptoms include:

• A burning feeling in the chest
• A sour or bitter taste in the mouth
• Bloating or feeling full
• Burping
• Food or liquid coming back up into the mouth
• Symptoms that become worse after eating or when lying down

Certain foods, large meals, and lying down soon after eating can make acid reflux worse.

Symptoms may improve after sitting upright or taking a medicine recommended for acidity.

However, improvement after an antacid does not prove that chest pain was caused by acidity. A heart attack can also feel like indigestion or heartburn.

What Does A Heart Attack Feel Like

A heart attack occurs when blood flow to part of the heart becomes blocked. Without enough oxygen, the heart muscle can become damaged.

The classic warning sign is discomfort in the centre of the chest. It may feel like:

• Pressure or heaviness
• Tightness or squeezing
• A dull ache

Burning Or Discomfort Similar To Indigestion

“The pain or discomfort may spread from the chest to one or both arms, the neck, jaw, back or stomach. Other symptoms can include breathlessness, sweating, nausea, vomiting, dizziness or feeling unusually anxious,” according to the American Heart Association.

A heart attack does not always cause severe or obvious chest pain. Some people may have relatively mild symptoms and mistake them for acidity.

These differences can provide clues, but they cannot rule out a heart attack. Symptoms can overlap considerably.

Symptoms Can Vary Between People

It is important not to rely on the idea that a heart attack always looks like someone suddenly clutching their chest.

Women

Women can experience the usual chest discomfort associated with a heart attack, but they may also have symptoms such as breathlessness, nausea, vomiting, or pain in the back or jaw.

These symptoms can be mistaken for digestive problems or other less serious conditions.

Older adults

Older people may not always have dramatic symptoms. Chest discomfort can be less obvious, and symptoms such as breathlessness, weakness, or dizziness may be more noticeable.

People with diabetes

People with diabetes can sometimes have a heart attack with few or no typical symptoms. This is known as a silent heart attack and is more common in older people and people with diabetes.

Younger adults

Being young does not completely rule out a heart problem. Chest pain should not automatically be dismissed as acidity simply because of age, particularly if it is unusual, persistent or accompanied by other warning signs.

When To See a Doctor

Call 112 immediately if you have chest pain or discomfort that feels tight, heavy, squeezing or severe, particularly if it spreads to your arm, neck or jaw. Emergency health disease help is also needed if chest discomfort is accompanied by severe difficulty breathing, sweating, nausea, dizziness or collapse.

If you are unsure whether your symptoms are caused by acidity or your heart, do not wait for them to become severe before seeking help. Heart attacks can cause permanent heart damage and can be life-threatening, so early treatment matters.

How Is The Difference Confirmed?

Doctors do not diagnose a heart attack simply by asking where the pain is or what it feels like.

Tests such as an electrocardiogram (ECG) and blood tests are used to check whether the heart has been damaged. Further tests may be needed depending on the results.

This is why trying to self-diagnose chest pain as acidity can be risky.

Final Word

Acidity and a heart attack can feel surprisingly similar. Burning after a meal, bloating and a sour taste may point towards acid reflux, while pressure or squeezing in the chest, pain spreading to other parts of the body, breathlessness, sweating or nausea can be warning signs of a heart attack.

But no symptom checklist can safely rule out a heart attack at home. If chest pain is new, unusual, persistent or accompanied by warning signs, treat it as an emergency and call 112. It is better to have chest pain checked and find out that it was acidity than to mistake a heart attack for indigestion.