GENEVA – Heart disease has been identified as the No. 1 cause of death in the United States, and Dr. Michelle Montpetit, a cardiologist at Delnor Hospital in Geneva, educates patients about avoiding heart disease and when to call 911.

“A heart attack is when the coronary artery of the heart is blocked and that causes lack of blood flow, and the heart muscle can die from that,” Montpetit said. “The symptoms that are most commonly seen on television is that the man grabs his chest … and has heavy chest pressure and just collapses. That is really not how most heart attacks happen in anyone, and in women, it is even more nonspecific.”

Classic symptoms of a heart attack are chest pressure going up to the jaw and down the left arm and sweating, she said.