How to Tell If Chest Pain Is a Heart Attack or Just Heartburn

Chest pain is one of those symptoms that stops you in your tracks. It’s also one of the most confusing.

Do you call 911? Pop an antacid and wait? Head to a walk-in? For many Canadians, the line between a benign stomach flare-up and a life-threatening heart attack feels impossibly blurry. And that confusion isn’t harmless—sometimes it’s fatal.

According to the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI), chest pain accounts for more than 800,000 emergency visits each year in Canada. The kicker? A large share of those visits end up being something other than a heart attack—acid reflux, anxiety, or muscle strain. Yet thousands of real cardiac emergencies are missed or dismissed as “probably nothing.”

It’s no surprise, then, that heart disease remains the second leading cause of death in Canada, claiming 55,000 lives annually. The difference often comes down to minutes—and whether people recognize the red flags early enough.

The Problem: Chest Pain Is Messy

In theory, healthcare has neat categories:

1. Emergencies → ER

2. Minor urgent issues → walk-in

3. Routine concerns → family doctor

But when your chest starts hurting, real life is messy.

Wait times roulette: If you head to the ER and it’s heartburn, you could wait 10+ hours for nothing. If you don’t go when it’s a heart attack, you could lose critical treatment time.

Overlapping symptoms: Nausea, fatigue, dizziness, or even back pain can belong to reflux, stress, or heart failure. For women and people with diabetes, classic “chest pressure” may not even appear at all.

Hidden heart attacks: Studies show women are 50% more likely than men to have their heart attack missed on first contact. Many diabetics never feel the “crushing” pain—nerve damage masks it.

Fear factor: People hesitate because they don’t want to “make a scene.” But underreacting to chest pain can be catastrophic.

Bottom line? Chest pain is the ultimate grey zone, where hesitation costs lives.

Why Common “Solutions” Fail

Most people fall back on quick fixes:

Google it: You type “burning chest” and within three clicks, you’re convinced you have esophageal cancer. Anxiety spikes, clarity plummets.

Always go to the ER: This leads to overcrowded waiting rooms filled with non-urgent patients. The system bogs down, and truly critical cases wait longer.

Wait it out: Dangerous when the issue is cardiac. Every 30-minute delay in treatment increases death risk by 7–10%.

These aren’t solutions, they’re gambles. Canadians need a smarter decision-making framework.

Heart Attack vs. Heartburn: How to Tell the Difference

The truth is, there’s overlap. But there are also key differences.

Signs of a Heart Attack

1. Pressure, heaviness, or squeezing sensation in the chest

2. Pain radiating to the arms, jaw, neck, or back

3. Shortness of breath, nausea, or sudden sweating

4. Symptoms lasting longer than a few minutes, or recurring

Signs of Heartburn

1. Burning feeling that starts in the chest or throat, often after eating

2. Pain worse at night, lying down, or bending over

3. Temporary relief from antacids

4. Rarely spreads to arms or jaw

The Overlap Zone

This is where it gets dangerous. Both can cause tightness or burning. Both can leave you feeling weak. And in women especially, a heart attack may only present as indigestion-like discomfort.

That’s why context matters: risk factors, timing, and persistence. If you have diabetes, high blood pressure, or a family history, the threshold for action should be much lower.

Extra Things to Consider

Time of day: Heart attacks peak in early morning hours when blood pressure naturally rises. Night-time chest pain deserves extra caution.

Location: Rural Canadians often live far from hospitals. Walk-in or urgent care wait times via platforms like Medimap can help decide whether to drive farther or seek virtual triage first.

Mobility: If leaving home is hard or risky, virtual consults can screen for warning signs and fast-track referrals.

What Doctors Want You to Know

1. Don’t downplay new pain. A first-time chest episode should always be investigated.

2. Track the details. Write down when it starts, what makes it worse, what helps, and how long it lasts. That context helps doctors separate reflux from something more ominous.

3. Call first responders when in doubt. The “FAST” stroke rule has saved countless lives. Think of “CALL FAST”for chest pain:

Chest pressure

Arms/jaw/back pain

Lightheaded/sweating

L dial 911 FAST

How Medimap Helps

One major barrier is access. Even when people decide to seek help, long waits make them hesitate.

Medimap lets you check real-time walk-in clinic waits near you, so you know whether urgent but non-ER care is available.

It can help you find family doctors accepting new patients, which means ongoing monitoring if you’ve had a scare.

Virtual options allow quick screening, so you don’t waste hours—or risk waiting too long.

The right care, at the right time, without guesswork.

The Takeaway

Chest pain isn’t black and white. Misinterpreting it can either waste your time—or cost your life.

The key is to:

Recognize red flags early

Understand your personal risk factors

Act decisively when something feels wrong

You don’t need to panic—but you do need to be prepared. Because when it comes to chest pain, every minute matters.

👉 If you’re ever unsure, err on the side of caution and seek care. And if you want to know where you can get seen fastest, check Medimap for wait times and options near you.