A really sore jaw
Along with arm issues, fatigue, and shortness of breath, jaw problems often emerge months before an attack and then intensify during the actual event. Robinson, an American Heart Association Go Red for Women spokesperson, described it as “like the way your mouth feels after you’ve come home from the dentist and the Novocaine hasn’t quite worn off.” As with the arm, the jaw also acts up because of what doctors call “referred” pain, explains Suzanne Steinbaum, DO, a New York City cardiologist and author of Suzanne Steinbaum’s Heart Book: Every Woman’s Guide to a Heart Healthy Life. “That pain comes from the heart,” she says. Dr. McSweeney recalls a patient who first complained about her jaw to her dentist, and was given treatment for TMJ. When that didn’t help, her wisdom tooth was removed. Of course, the pain only got worse— until she ended up in the hospital with a heart attack and was finally properly treated
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