"It is quite possible one is having a myocardial infarct if one suffers chest pain for 20 continuous minutes," said Cui Song, a cardiological physician with Shanghai Shuguang Hospital.
Men who have high blood pressure, smoke and are aged 50 or older are at high risk of the disease. The golden hour, a period in which prompt medical treatment will likely prevent death by the disease, is about 120 minutes, said the expert.
Liu Deping, deputy director of the cardiology department of Beijing Hospital, warned that the feelings of constriction, burning and suffocating in the chest, in the back and even around the neck and jaw, are symptoms of a heart attack.
Liu suggested immediately seeking treatment as soon as a heart attack occurs.
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