SILENTS HEART ATTACK SYMPTOMS
Did you know a person can have a heart attack and not even know it?
In 2016, the American
Heart Association’s journal, Circulation, reported that 45% of all heart attacks
are what doctors call “silent”.
Meaning they don’t cause
the classic symptoms, such as pressure or pain in the chest or left arm just
like a heart attack that causes sharp chest pain, a silent heart attack
can occur when the arteries that carry blood to the heart become blocked.
This deprives the heart
muscle of nutrient-rich oxygen and can cause severe damage.
In today’s article, we
look at the top 10 symptoms of a silent heart attack or silent myocardial infarctions
(SMI) that signal something isn’t right.
Most times, the person
having the heart attack doesn’t realize what’s actually going on this can
then delay seeking medical treatment, and in the worst-case scenario, those
precious moments can lead to a tragic outcome.
Find out which subtle signs are clues that someone you love might be
suffering from a heart attack.
1. Stomach Pain and Indigestion
Most commonly reported
in women, nausea, indigestion, and abdominal pain are plausible warning
signs indicating a heart attack this is especially true if these
gastrointestinal symptoms are accompanied by shortness of breath,
sweating, or dizziness.
In one study published
in the journal Circulation, researchers interviewed 2,009 women who
were hospitalized for a heart attack, and discovered that nearly 61.5
percent of them experienced nausea or stomach pain as a symptom of
their event.
If you just had a spicy
meal or a junk food feast, your upset stomach and heartburn are probably
perfectly normal.
However, when pain in
your chest persists, and you aren’t sure it’s heartburn, it’s time to
have your doctor run tests.
Even experienced medical
professionals can’t always tell a heart attack from heartburn.
2. Lightheadedness or Dizziness
Not drinking enough
water, skipping lunch, or standing up too fast are all things that can
make you dizzy but feeling dizzy or lightheaded, accompanied by chest pain
and shortness of breath, may signify that a heart attack could be on
its way.
When the heart struggles
and cannot deliver oxygen, this adversely affects the brain.
According to the
American Heart Association, dizziness, lightheadedness, and fainting
are all heart attack signs that are more likely to occur in women than
men.
3. Shortness of Breath
If you feel like you
just ran a marathon after going up a flight of stairs that may be a sign
your heart is having difficulty pumping blood to the rest of your body.
Shortness of breath, for
no apparent reason, can occur with or without chest pain, and is
another overlooked sign of a silent heart attack.
According to The Heart
Foundation, this symptom occurs more often in men than women.
4. Nausea and Vomiting
Researchers have provided
several theories on the cause of vomiting associated with heart attacks.
According to researchers,
this happens when heart cells become damaged from poor blood supply.
As a result, these
damaged areas then release lactic acid, pyruvic acid, and other
metabolites.
The buildup of these
metabolites increases acidity in the blood, which can lead to vomiting.
5. Pain in the Throat and
Jaw
You may have heard that
chest pain that radiates down your arm is a heart attack symptom.
What you might not know
is that the pressure, tightness, pain, or squeezing or aching
sensation in your chest and arms, can also spread into your neck,
jaw, down your mid and lower back, and even your legs.
Pain in your jaw and
throat can feel like a bad toothache.
These body parts are
often in the line of fire during a heart attack, because the vagus nerve
is connected to not only the heart but also the abdomen, chest, neck, and
brain.
So, when a blocked
artery occurs, it can trigger the nerves in your heart to signal
pain in order to warn you that something is wrong and the vagus nerve
spreads the signal to other areas of the body.
6. Extreme Fatigue or Weakness
Feeling worn out after a
sleepless night or a stressful day is normal but if you’re sitting in
bed, watching TV, and suddenly are no longer able to even hold your head
up, this could mean trouble.
This is not an unusual
situation. In one study, researchers found that over 45 percent of
women who had a heart attack said they felt weak or tired right
before they went to the hospital.
In 2003, the American
Heart Association surveyed over 500 women who survived heart attacks
and published the results in the journal Circulation.
Seventy-one percent of
women reported feeling tired for no logical reason in the weeks
before their heart attack.
In the same survey, 48
percent of women said they experienced sleep disturbance up to a
month before the event.
Only 31 percent of women
experienced chest pain at the onset of their heart attack.
And 43 percent reported
no chest pain at all during their heart attack.
7. Irregular Heartbeat
Abnormal heartbeats,
also known as arrhythmia, are a common heart disease symptom in both
men and women, although it has other causes as well.
You may notice that your
heart is beating faster or irregularly, and in most cases, you will also
experience dizziness when your heart’s rhythm is disrupted, it isn’t pumping
oxygenated blood properly, and this can lead to a heart attack.
If you have coronary
artery disease, you may be at risk for a dangerous arrhythmia called atrial
fibrillation.
This is a rapid,
quivering heartbeat that can lead to heart palpitations, blood clots,
heart attack and stroke.
Seek medical attention
right away, if an irregular heartbeat is associated with other symptoms.
8. Unexplained Sweating
Sweating excessively can
happen minute before a heart attack and unlike regular sweat that
happens after a workout or in warm weather, this symptom is often
described as cold sweats.
This condition is called
diaphoresis and affects your entire body rather than a part of your body.
A 2005 study from the
University of Illinois at Chicago found that perspiration, in
combination with feeling discomfort in your chest, arm, neck, or jaw,
could be a reliable predictor of a heart attack.
9. A General Feeling of Unease
You may not be feeling
quite right, but cannot put your finger on exactly why.
A general state of
discomfort, and an overall feeling of unease, could indicate a silent
heart attack is on the way.
It’s a good idea to get
your heart checked out, even if you don’t think you’re exhibiting common
signs of a heart attack.
10. Pain in the Chest
Some people do not
experience any chest pain, while in others, the symptoms may not
always be sudden or severe.
Chest pain or discomfort
can last for several seconds or minutes and is just as common in men as it
is in women.
In those with serious
chest pain, some feel intense pressure or a sense of fullness others feel
tingling or sharp stabbing pain.
There you have it! The
top 10 subtle signs of a heart attack that is easy to miss.
Being aware of these
symptoms could save your life—or someone else’s one thing you can do to
prepare is to have medically prescribed aspirin or nitroglycerin in
your home.
Although a heart attack
is life-threatening, these medications can help stabilize the condition
while waiting for help to arrive.
To learn how you can
erase artery plaque and lower blood pressure, click the link in the
description.
As always, this video is
educational and does not constitute medical advice; we are not doctors.
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