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Heart Attack

How I Knew It Was a Heart Attack: 3 Real Survivor Stories

Brittany DoohanKaren Hovav, MD, FAAP
Written by Brittany Doohan | Reviewed by Karen Hovav, MD, FAAP
Updated on November 6, 2025
Reviewed by Karen Hovav, MD, FAAP | November 6, 2025

Symptoms of a heart attack aren't always obvious. Here are three real life heart attack experiences — all from survivors who were taken by complete surprise.

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Brittany Doohan
Written by:
Brittany Doohan
Brittany Doohan was the Content Director at HealthiNation and is currently the Editorial Director at Medscape. Through her work with Medscape, she won a Silver Telly Award in May 2022 for "Sleepless Nation: A Public Health Epidemic — Episode 2: A Decade Without a Diagnosis." She has worked in health journalism and video production for more than 8 years, and loves the challenge of explaining complex topics in an easy-to-understand and creative way.
Karen Hovav, MD, FAAP, has more than 15 years of experience as an attending pediatrician. She has worked in a large academic center in an urban city, a small community hospital, a private practice, and an urgent care clinic.

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