Heart health / Patient information sheet
Know the warning signs of a heart attack
Draft — under clinical review. This information sheet is being reviewed by our clinical advisers before final publication. It is general information only and is not a substitute for advice from your doctor.
Call 000 immediately if warning signs are severe, get worse quickly, or last more than 10 minutes. It is always better to call an ambulance than to wait or drive yourself.
What a heart attack can feel like
A heart attack does not always look like the sudden collapse you see in films. Symptoms can build gradually and may include:
- Chest discomfort — pain, pressure, heaviness or tightness in the centre of the chest.
- Pain spreading to the arms, shoulders, neck, jaw or back.
- Shortness of breath, with or without chest discomfort.
- Cold sweat, nausea, light-headedness or a sense that something is very wrong.
Symptoms can be different in women, older people and people with diabetes — sometimes with less obvious chest pain and more breathlessness, fatigue or nausea.
What to do
- Stop and rest. Sit or lie down.
- Call 000 if symptoms are severe, worsening, or last 10 minutes.
- Chew a dose of aspirin if advised by the operator and you are not allergic.
- Stay on the line and follow the operator's instructions.
If someone collapses (cardiac arrest)
If a person is unresponsive and not breathing normally:
- Call 000 and start CPR straight away.
- Push hard and fast in the centre of the chest, about 100–120 compressions a minute.
- Send someone for an AED (defibrillator) and follow its spoken prompts.
- Keep going until the ambulance arrives.
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Reviewed by: [clinical adviser name & date to be added before final publication]. Sources: Australian CVD risk guidelines (2023), AIHW and Heart Foundation — to be cited in full on publication.