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Hunger Pains: Heart Burn or Heart Attack?

Between the turkey and the pies, everyone can go a little overboard on the food on Thanksgiving. Doctors say it’s a good time to remind people that the pa...

Between the turkey and the pies, everyone can go a little overboard on the food on Thanksgiving.

Doctors say it's a good time to remind people that the pain of heart burn may feel a lot like the symptoms of a heart attack and it's not unusual for people to confuse the two.

Doctors say occasional heart burn is normal, but if it happens at other times - not just after eating - it may be time to pay a visit to the doctor's office.

"No matter how bad the heart burn is or how bad the acid reflux is, it is never life threatening," says Dr. Sreenivas Chintalapani a Gastroenterologist in Davenport. "But even the most subtle form of heart attack is potentially life-threatening so time is of the essence."

Dr. Chintalapani adds that before he sees any new patient, he usually does some cardiac testing to rule out any issues with the heart before moving on to treat digestive issues.

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