What to do right now
If you or someone with you has chest pain that lasts more than a few minutes, or comes with any of the signs below, treat it as a heart attack until proven otherwise.
- Call 999 immediately. Say "I think it's a heart attack". Ambulance crews can start treatment and an ECG before you reach hospital. Do not phone a relative, a GP or 111 first.
- Stop and sit down. Sit on the floor with your back against a wall or chair and knees bent. This eases the strain on your heart and protects you if you faint. Stay as still and calm as you can.
- Chew one 300mg aspirin, if you have it and are not allergic. Chewing works faster than swallowing. Only do this if aspirin is within reach. Don't get up to look for it and don't take it if a doctor has told you not to.
- Unlock the door and keep your phone with you. Ask someone to wait for the ambulance if you can. Note the time the pain started.
- Do not drive yourself. You could pass out at the wheel. Waiting for the ambulance is faster and safer, because treatment starts the moment the crew arrives.
- If the person stops breathing normally, start CPR. See the CPR page. The 999 call handler will talk you through it.
Not sure if it's a heart attack? Call 999 anyway. Paramedics would far rather check you and find nothing than arrive too late. Nobody will be annoyed that you called.
Warning signs of a heart attack
A heart attack doesn't always look like it does on TV. Pain is often mild, and some people have no chest pain at all, especially women, older people and people with diabetes.
Chest
- Pressure, tightness, squeezing, heaviness or aching in the centre of the chest
- Can feel like bad indigestion or a heavy weight
- Lasts more than a few minutes, or goes away and comes back
Spreading pain
- Pain moving to one or both arms (often the left)
- Jaw, neck, throat, back or stomach
- Sometimes only these areas hurt, with no chest pain
Other symptoms
- Shortness of breath
- Feeling sick, vomiting or indigestion-like discomfort
- Sweating, or cold and clammy skin
- Feeling light-headed, dizzy or faint
- Overwhelming anxiety or a sense that something is very wrong
Women are more likely to have "quieter" symptoms: unusual tiredness, breathlessness, nausea, or pain in the back, jaw or arm without obvious chest pain. These are still heart attack symptoms. Call 999.
Heart attack or cardiac arrest?
A heart attack is a blocked artery. The person is usually awake and in pain. A cardiac arrest is when the heart stops pumping. The person collapses, is unresponsive and is not breathing normally. A heart attack can lead to cardiac arrest, which is why you should never leave someone alone once you've called 999.
The full guide
Is it an emergency?
Five quick questions that tell you whether to call 999, 111 or your GP.
What else causes chest pain?
Angina, reflux, panic, muscle strain, clots and more. Which ones still need 999.
Angina and GTN spray
If you already have a diagnosis: when angina becomes a 999 call.
Helping someone else
What to tell 999, what to gather, and what to do while you wait.
CPR and defibrillators
Step-by-step, with a compression pacer you can follow on your phone.
What happens in hospital
ECG, blood tests, angiogram, stents. What to expect and how long it takes.
Recovery
Cardiac rehab, driving rules, work, sex, flying and your new medicines.
Know your risk
Family history, free NHS checks and the changes that make the biggest difference.
Posters and fridge cards
Free PDFs to print for your kitchen, workplace, club or waiting room.
Easy read version
Big text, short sentences, one idea at a time.
Dangerous myths
"It's probably just indigestion."
A heart attack often feels exactly like indigestion or heartburn. If the discomfort is new, unusual for you, lasts more than a few minutes or comes with sweating, breathlessness or nausea, call 999. Let a professional decide.
"I'm too young / fit / healthy."
Heart attacks happen to people in their 30s and 40s, to marathon runners and to people with no known risk factors. Age and fitness lower the odds, but they don't rule it out.
"I don't want to waste the ambulance's time."
Chest pain is one of the most important calls the ambulance service takes. Checking someone and finding nothing is a good outcome. Arriving to a cardiac arrest that could have been prevented is not.
"I'll drive to A&E, it'll be quicker."
Ambulance crews carry an ECG, oxygen, clot-busting drugs and a defibrillator, and can alert the hospital's heart team so you go straight to treatment. If you have a cardiac arrest in your car, you die. Call 999.
"I'll sleep on it and see the GP in the morning."
Heart muscle dies by the minute during a heart attack. The damage done overnight is permanent. The sooner an artery is opened, the more heart you keep.
"The pain went away, so I'm fine now."
Pain that comes and goes can be a warning of a bigger blockage about to happen (unstable angina). It still needs urgent assessment. Call 999 if it lasted more than 15 minutes, or 111 if it was brief and you're unsure.