It's three o'clock in the morning and you're not sure if the nagging pain in your chest is the spicy food you ate for dinner or something more serious. Your options are simple: You can wait it out – ignore it, hope the pain goes away and possibly suffer dire consequences. Or, you can get an expert opinion – at the McLeod Chest Pain Center.

Chest pain is the number one symptom of a heart attack. Sometimes it comes and goes quickly. Sometimes it's a dull, but persistent sensation. But it's always something you should have checked. It can be a sign of heart disease or a symptom of a heart attack. Heart disease can also lead to an attack as the heart arteries become blocked and deprive the heart of proper blood flow.

In addition, chest pain isn't the only symptom you should watch for as a sign of a heart attack. The American Heart Association and McLeod Chest Pain Center experts list the following common signs and symptoms you should know.

Time is Muscle.
With a heart attack, time is of the essence. If adequate blood flow isn't reestablished quickly, permanent damage to the heart may occur. For this reason, it is important that every chest pain be taken seriously.

That's where the McLeod Chest Pain Center comes in. McLeod offers a dedicated full-spectrum emergency cardiac care program to evaluate your situation before it gets worse and in many cases, prevent a severe heart attack. The McLeod Chest Pain Center is staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week by experienced healthcare professionals who are especially trained in recognizing and treating a heart attack. The center comprised of six designated rooms, which include a dedicated critical care resuscitation room, is adjacent to the McLeod Emergency Department so that patients have quick and easy access to immediate assistance. The Center is located just a few paces away from McLeod's state-of-the-art interventional technology and diagnostics as well as heart catheterization labs and premier open heart surgery suites, when this expertise is required.

According to Dr. Peter Hyman, Medical Director of the McLeod Emergency Department, "Patients can be quite confident of the quality of this specialized treatment area. The protocols and processes being followed are based on best practices, after extensive literature reviews, research, and referencing in emergency cardiac care. These procedures are evidence-based -- tailored and developed from the input and feedback of many McLeod physicians and cardiologists involved in the treatment of patients in this region.

"The Chest Pain Center at McLeod was established to serve our cardiac patients in a superlative way and to address the number one disease process which impacts both men and women in this area of the state," added Dr. Hyman.

All patients with suspected cardiac chest discomfort will be seen in the Chest Pain Center and those patients felt to be at low-risk for having an AMI (Acute Myocardial Infarction, or heart attack) will be ruled out by serial enzymes and exercise stress tests within the Chest Pain Center -- on average -- within 15 hours.

"The McLeod Chest Pain Center is designated to receive all patients who meet the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Guidelines for patients suspected of having a heart attack," Dr. Hyman said. The McLeod Chest Pain Center has met and exceeded the performance benchmarks set by both the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology.

"Tony Derrick, RN, BSN, Director of the McLeod Chest Pain Center , explains that such a center offers a tremendous benefit to the people of this region. "The Pee Dee is one of the largest regions for heart disease. McLeod is continuously raising the bar for specialized care and pursuing perfection in the treatment of its patients. The Chest Pain Center has become a model for performance improvement in the care of potential heart attacks.

The Chest Pain Center will help identify and rule in or out whether a patient is having an acute heart attack or not. By ruling in the acute MI patient, they are given appropriate treatment and receive intervention more expediently."

According to Derrick, the McLeod Chest Pain Center is efficient, evidence-based and an assuring way to know whether you are suffering from simple indigestion or something much more serious. And, at 3:00 a.m. peace of mind is worth the trip to the McLeod Chest Pain Center. For someone experiencing a heart attack, every single minute counts in terms of minimizing the damage or even saving your life.

"The McLeod Chest Pain Center is here to provide you with a sense of security. If your heart checks out okay, you can go home in a matter of hours knowing that you have received the best in cardiac care. We don't ignore chest pain. And, neither should you," said Derrick.