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Chest Discomfort

Most heart attacks involve discomfort in the center of the chest that lasts more than a few minutes, or that goes away and comes back. It can feel like uncomfortable pressure, squeezing, fullness or pain.

Discomfort in other areas of the upper body

Symptoms can include pain or discomfort in one or both arms, the back, neck, jaw or stomach.

Shortness of breath

With or without chest discomfort.

Other signs

May include breaking out in a cold sweat, nausea or lightheadedness.

CARDIAC ARREST WARNING SIGNS

  • Sudden loss of responsiveness
  • No response to tapping on shoulders.
  • No normal breathing
  • The victim does not take a normal breath when you tilt the head up and check for at least five seconds.

Learn Hands-Only CPR – English or Spanish

What is cardiopulmonary resuscitation?

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation, commonly known as CPR, is an emergency procedure performed in an effort to manually preserve intact brain function until further measures are taken to restore spontaneous blood circulation and breathing in a person who is in cardiac arrest.

When was CPR first used?

1956 Peter Safar and James Elam invented mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. 1957 The United States military adopted the mouth-to-mouth resuscitation method to revive unresponsive victims. 1960 Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) was developed.