According to a study conducted by researchers in Sweden and Uruguay, a toothache or pain in the jaw may just be a sign of a heart attack. However, the symptoms are overlooked very often. The study proved that women who suffer from heart attacks or angina can suffer from tooth or jaw ache without any chest pains.
As part of the study, 186 patients who were diagnosed with angina or heart attack were asked to indicate on a body chart where they experienced pain. Almost four out of ten patients or 71 out of the 186 patients, who were mainly women pointed at the jaw or on the face.
They study which was conducted by the researchers from Sweden and Uruguay together with several cardiologists and dentists, suggested that facial pain was the most common symptom if chest pains did not occur. The pain was also equal on both sides of the face and increased when the patient made some kind of physical exertion.
According to Professor Annika Isberg of the department of odontology at Umea University, who has specialized in the study of jaws, dentists sometimes look for traces in the wrong spot.
This said, dentists and doctors should therefore consider the possibility of a heart attack when a patient complains of a toothache. Although the study was quite small in scope, it still suggested a link between facial pain and heart attacks in women, Isberg said.