Silent heart attacks are identical to normal attacks in terms of damage that it may cost to the heart muscle. In case of a silent heart attack your body goes through the exact same process however the only difference is that you just don’t feel it.
So what does the term ‘heart attack’ brings to your mind? The sheer image of an elderly man clutching his chest and hitting the ground with his face twitched in pain, right? Yes, this is perhaps the typical image of someone having a heart attack. But did you know; silent heart attacks may also occur? Did you know heart attack may occur without all those typical symptoms and still may have the same impact on your health? New research demonstrates, almost half of all heart attacks shows no symptoms and may occur silently.
Silent heart attack – what’s that anyway?
While the majority of people may have a heart attack with all established and typical symptoms such as chest pain, discomfort, extreme weakness and cold sweat, there’s still a subgroup of people, who may not have all those typical symptoms before a heart attack. This is medically known as ‘silent heart attack. Although it’s most common for women and among diabetics, but a silent heart attack can happen to anyone.
There could be some unusual symptoms
As a matter of fact; there could be some unusual symptoms such as unexplained fatigue, sudden breathlessness and discomfort in the throat, jaw or neck. Some patients may even experience common heart burn and in most of the cases they take simple medication for relieving heartburn symptoms instead of recognizing the fact that the heartburn is a possible signal of a fatal attack.
A study appeared in the American Heart Association reveals a shocking fact that – “silent” heart attacks represent 45% of all heart attacks. The study result also unleashed the fact that silent attacks may affect varied groups of people in varied ways.
The fact is undeniable – silent heart attacks are as deadly as normal heart attacks
Any and every heart attack starts with a blockage in one or more than one of the heart arteries that supplies the heart with oxygenated blood. The sudden blockage restricts the blood flow and causes the part of the heart muscle to die. Get the fact aligned – silent heart attacks are identical to normal attacks in terms of damage that it may cost to the heart muscle. In case of a silent heart attack your body goes through the exact same process however the only difference is that you just don’t feel it.
With this comes the next pertinent question – why doesn’t the patient feel a silent heart attack?
A patient may not feel the heart attack if his heart manages to compensate for the lack of oxygenated blood flow by using other blood vessels. But as already briefed above; the absence of the typical symptoms and pain in case of a silent attack doesn’t mean the absence of damage to the heart muscle.
Medically speaking; hearts usually have a default reserve capacity of sustaining certain amount of weakening and scarring resulting from a heart attack. But it does not have the capacity to heal or repair the damage itself. This means; as it happens with a traditional heart attack, if you have suffered a silent attack you’re at greater risk of having another heart attack. The second heart attack even a mild one may prove fatal.
Are women more at risk of a silent heart attack?
Yes, women are more at risk to have a silent attack than men. This is typically because women tend to experience less obvious symptoms of a heart attack. Often heart disease in women may not be diagnosed until women experience the typical symptoms of a heart failure, attack, arrhythmia or stroke.
Forget the dramatic visual of a heart attack shown on TV, as its pretty common for women to experience just a jaw, neck or shoulder pain or just a toothache or simply feel drained off before a heart attack. Sad but true; most of the times women dismiss these symptoms
How to spot a silent heart attack?
Just like the traditional heart attacks silent attacks an also be detected by EKG.
Although it’s quite common to experience heart attacks without any symptoms however there are still some signs that body may send to indicate that something is not right.
Talk to your doctor immediately if you have the following symptoms –
Doctors usually look for the tell-tale signs of a heart attack on the electrocardiogram scan to determine the damage in the heart after the attack.
Check if you have any of the heart disease risk factors mentioned below–
Talk to your doctor and assess your heart attack risk factors
Face it; your heart disease risk factors have a direct connection with your heart attack risk. Simply put; the more risk factors you have the more likely you are to have an attack – be it a silent or otherwise.
Get your heart health checked by a cardiologist if you are over 35. The doctor may ask you to test the following in order to pin point your heart disease risk factor
Time is of essence and you should take the necessary measures for reducing the risk of heart disease.
Make some small but significant lifestyle changes to keep your heart healthy
Stop smoking: In fact this is the single most significant step which you may take to protect your heart
Stop consuming saturated fat: Saturated fat can be found in pastries, red meat, cheese, pies and butter. Stop taking saturated fat to restrict your blood cholesterol level from rising.
Reduce your salt intake: Salt raises the blood pressure level so ban table salt completely and at the same time check labels of bread, cereals and ready meals for hidden salt.
Be active: Stay active throughout the day but never over exert yourself. Even just a brisk walk every day for 30 minutes can reduce your heart disease risk to a great extent
Lose weight and fat around the belly: Lose weight if you are obese or overweight. Research clearly states that the fat stored around the belly can travel straight to the heart area.
The bottom-line – As briefed earlier, a silent heart attack puts you at more risk of having another heart attack and that could be fatal.
Talk to your doctor. Review your symptoms with a cardiologist without any further delay. Get imaging test done to determine whether you have had a silent heart attack. Your doctor will decide if more tests are needed.