(Amanda Froelich) The concept of suffering a heart attack, or knowing someone who is at risk, is frightening. The feeling happened to me the other day when I heard someone in my family was having chest pains. As a health professional, my first question was to ask what other symptoms they were experiencing. Had it been numbness and tingling in nearby extremities, lightheadedness, or feelings of tightness, I would have insisted they travel to the emergency room (ER).