6 Serious Medical Symptoms

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Track your way to weight loss success Manage your family's vaccinations Join the conversation See more benefits Sign Up Why WebMD? My WebMD Show Menu My Tools My WebMD Pages My Account Sign Out FacebookTwitterPinterest WebMD Home Heart Health Center Atrial Fibrillation and Stroke Email a Friend Print Article if (pf_param == "true") {printElements();} Atrial Fibrillation and Stroke Next Article: Skip to Article Content Atrial Fibrillation and Stroke AFib Treatment Facts on AFib treatments, including blood thinners to prevent clots. Stroke Prevention Procedures to help control or stop AFib. Get the Facts on AFib Learn the basics of heart rhythm disorders. AFib: Causes and Risks Find out who's at highest risk for AFib, and why. How AFib Is Diagnosed Your practical guide to tests used to diagnose atrial fibrillation. AFib: Medical Care Getting the most from your medicine and your health care team. 6 Medical Symptoms Never to Ignore Is that medical symptom life-threatening? Facts you should know. Atrial Fibrillation Symptoms Symptoms of atrial fibrillation explained in easy-to-understand terms. The Warning Signs of Stroke How to recognize the signs and symptoms of stroke. Stroke: Who's at Risk? Stay proactive and informed. Find out who's at risk for having a stroke. AFib: Your Healthy Lifestyle How healthy eating, exercise, and relaxation help you feel your best with AFib. False 6 Serious Medical Symptoms Some medical symptoms are warnings that you need immediate care. Learn to recognize them. WebMD Feature

By Katherine Kam

Reviewed By Brunilda Nazario, MD

That new symptom is troubling: the inexplicable swelling in your calf or the blood in your urine. Could it be serious or even life-threatening?

"Your body flashes signals -- symptoms and signs -- that warn you of potential problems," say Neil Shulman, MD, Jack Birge, MD, and Joon Ahn, MD. The three Georgia-based doctors are the authors of the book Your Body's Red Light Warning Signals.

Fortunately, many symptoms turn out not to be serious. For example, the majority of headaches stem from stress, eyestrain, lack of sleep, dehydration, caffeine withdrawal, and other mundane causes.

But a sudden, agonizing "thunderclap" headache -- the worst of your life -- could mean bleeding in the brain. Being able to recognize this serious symptom and calling 911 may save your life.

Here are six important flashing signals.

1. Paralysis of the arms or legs, tingling, numbness, confusion, dizziness, double vision, slurred speech, trouble finding words, or weakness, especially on one side of the face or body.

These are signs of stroke -- or a "brain attack" -- in which arteries that supply oxygen to the brain become blocked or rupture, causing brain tissue to die.

Symptoms depend on which area of the brain is involved. If a large blood vessel is blocked, a wide area may be affected, so a person may have paralysis on one side of the body and lose other functions, such as speech and understanding. If a smaller vessel is blocked, paralysis may remain limited to an arm or leg, or even the face.

If you have symptoms, call 911 right away and get to an emergency room that offers clot-busting therapy for strokes due to blocked vessels. Such treatment, which dissolves clots in blocked vessels, needs to be given within the first 3 hours after symptoms begin, but newer treatments may work within a longer time frame, says Birge, who is medical director at the Tanner Medical Center in Carrollton, Ga.

Timing is urgent; fast treatment can potentially stop brain tissue death before permanent brain injury happens. "There is a time clock ticking as to when you might totally recover," Birge tells WebMD.

2. Chest pain or discomfort; pain in the arm, jaw, or neck; breaking out in a cold sweat; extreme weakness; nausea; vomiting; feeling faint; or being short of breath.

These are signs of heart attack. If you get some of these symptoms, call 911 immediately and go to the emergency room by ambulance. Shulman and Birge also recommend that patients chew one regular, full-strength aspirin (unless they're allergic to aspirin) to help prevent damage to the heart muscle during a heart attack.

Not everyone who has a heart attack feels chest pain or pressure or a sense of indigestion. Some people, especially women, the elderly, and people with diabetes, get "painless" heart attacks, the doctors say. Being aware of "painless" heart attack signs is crucial: symptoms may include weakness, sudden dizziness, a pounding heart, shortness of breath, heavy sweating, a feeling of impending doom, nausea, and vomiting.

1 2 3 #url_reference {display: none};#url_reference { display: block; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 10px; }#logo_rdr img { visibility: visible; }.titleBar_rdr .titleBarMiddle_fmt { padding-top: 1.5em;} Atrial Fibrillation Atrial Fibrillation Living With AFib AFib Treatments Heart Rhythm Reset Facts on AFib AFib Risks Diagnosing AFib For Family Medical Care Serious Symptoms Signs of AFib Signs of Stroke Stroke Risk Factors Live Well With AFib // self executing function for scope (function(){ // grabs pageview id out of global scope and makes sure it exists as we need to pass it to ads in that case var pageviewId = window.s_pageview_id || ''; var iframeURLOutOfPB = '//as.webmd.com/html.ng/transactionID=220340691&tile=775164985&tug=&pug=__&site=2&affiliate=20&hcent=&scent=948&pos=113&xpg=1629&sec=&au1=1&au2=1&uri=%2fheart%2fatrial-fibrillation-stroke-11%2fserious-symptoms&artid=091e9c5e80011096&inst=0&leaf=12948&segm=0&cc=10&tmg=&bc=_i_j45_r52_&mcent=µ=&pvid=' + pageviewId; var cleanIframeURL = iframeURLOutOfPB.replace(/&/g, '&'); var ad = { adLocation:'left', adURL:cleanIframeURL, trans:'220340691', tile:'775164985', pos:'113' }; // check to make sure this seed call functionality exists, if it does, dooo it if(webmd.object.exists('webmd.ads.handleAdSeedCall')) { webmd.ads.handleAdSeedCall(ad); } })(); // self executing function for scope (function(){ // grabs pageview id out of global scope and makes sure it exists as we need to pass it to ads in that case var pageviewId = window.s_pageview_id || ''; var iframeURLOutOfPB = '//as.webmd.com/html.ng/transactionID=220340691&tile=775164985&tug=&pug=__&site=2&affiliate=20&hcent=&scent=948&pos=121&xpg=1629&sec=&au1=1&au2=1&uri=%2fheart%2fatrial-fibrillation-stroke-11%2fserious-symptoms&artid=091e9c5e80011096&inst=0&leaf=12948&segm=0&cc=10&tmg=&bc=_i_j45_r52_&mcent=µ=&pvid=' + pageviewId; var cleanIframeURL = iframeURLOutOfPB.replace(/&/g, '&'); var ad = { adLocation:'right', adURL:cleanIframeURL, trans:'220340691', tile:'775164985', pos:'121' }; // check to make sure this seed call functionality exists, if it does, dooo it if(webmd.object.exists('webmd.ads.handleAdSeedCall')) { webmd.ads.handleAdSeedCall(ad); } })(); Life With Atrial Fibrillation Tips and facts to help you
live your best with atrial
fibrillation. Atrial Fibrillation Poll Which atrial fibrillation symptom bothers you the most? Palpitations Shortness of breath Lightheadedness or dizziness Chest pain I don't have any symptoms View Results WebMD Video Series Atrial Fibrillation Atrial Fibrillation

Discover what happens during atrial fibrillation and what your doctor can do to manage it.

Spotting a Stroke Spotting a Stroke

Stroke is a leading killer of women, but the risk is higher for African Americans. Learn how one survivor is increasing awareness.

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