Many things can affect how your body responds to a symptom and what kind of care you may need. These include:

• Your age. Babies and older adults tend to get sicker quicker.
• Your overall health. If you have a condition such as diabetes, HIV, cancer, or heart disease, you may need to pay closer attention to certain symptoms and seek care sooner.
• Medicines you take. Certain medicines, herbal remedies, and supplements can cause symptoms or make them worse.
• Recent health events, such as surgery or injury. These kinds of events can cause symptoms afterwards or make them more serious.
• Your health habits and lifestyle, such as eating and exercise habits, smoking, alcohol or drug use, sexual history, and travel.

Symptoms of a heart attack may include:

• Chest pain or pressure, or a strange feeling in the chest.
• Sweating.
• Shortness of breath.
• Nausea or vomiting.
• Pain, pressure, or a strange feeling in the back, neck, jaw, or upper belly, or in one or both shoulders or arms.
• Lightheadedness or sudden weakness.
• A fast or irregular heartbeat.

The more of these symptoms you have, the more likely it is that you're having a heart attack. Chest pain or pressure is the most common symptom, but some people, especially women, may not notice it as much as other symptoms. You may not have chest pain at all but instead have shortness of breath, nausea, or a strange feeling in your chest or other areas.

Problems with memory, judgment, or problem solving include things like:

• Frequently misplacing items you use often (unless you have always done this).
• Getting lost while walking or driving in a place you know well.
• Having more trouble with tasks you used to be able to do without difficulty, like balancing your checkbook or preparing a meal.

Confusion may range from mild to severe. A person who is confused may:

• Be unable to express his or her thoughts clearly.
• Have trouble solving problems and performing simple tasks.
• Express firmly held but false beliefs (delusions).
• See, hear, feel, smell, or taste things that are not really there (hallucinations or illusions).
• Believe that others want to harm him or her (paranoia).

Symptoms of a stroke may include:

• Sudden numbness, tingling, weakness, or paralysis in your face, arm, or leg, especially on only one side of your body.
• Sudden vision changes.
• Sudden trouble speaking.
• Sudden confusion or trouble understanding simple statements.
• Sudden problems with walking or balance.
• A sudden, severe headache that is different from past headaches.

Many prescription and nonprescription medicines can affect your memory. A few examples are:

• Antidepressants.
• Antihistamines.
• Medicines for bladder control problems (anticholinergics).

Symptoms of difficulty breathing can range from mild to severe. For example:

• You may feel a little out of breath but still be able to talk (mild difficulty breathing), or you may be so out of breath that you cannot talk at all (severe difficulty breathing).
• It may be getting hard to breathe with activity (mild difficulty breathing), or you may have to work very hard to breathe even when you’re at rest (severe difficulty breathing).

Severe trouble breathing means:

• You cannot talk at all.
• You have to work very hard to breathe.
• You feel like you can't get enough air.
• You do not feel alert or cannot think clearly.

Moderate trouble breathing means:

• It's hard to talk in full sentences.
• It's hard to breathe with activity.

Mild trouble breathing means:

• You feel a little out of breath but can still talk.
• It's becoming hard to breathe with activity.