‘Beware of silent heart attack’

One might be aware of the symptoms of heart attack as crushing chest pain, severe sweating, difficulty in breathing and fainting, but it was found that in the case of unrecognised or ’silent heart attacks’ the warning symptoms are absent.

‘The victim will not be aware of what is happening as they consider it as only another ’state of moment’ and soon forget about the discomfort and the indisposition they felt,’ International Cardiologist in Sri Ramachandra Medical College, Dr G Sengottuvelu told PTI.

Silent heart attacks will not show any symptoms or may appear with ordinary signs such as fatigue or extreme tiredness, nausea, sweating, breathlessness and dizziness.

The cause of silent attack, like any other heart attack, is the progressive narrowing of the heart’s arteries due to accumulation of cholesterol plaque. In most instances, this reduction in blood supply generates a protest from the heart – the crushing pain called ‘angina’.

According to a report in the recent issue of journal of American Colleges of Cardiology, more than one in five people over the age of 65 had suffered unrecognised heart attacks.

‘People with diabetes, high blood pressure or high cholesterol levels are most likely to have a silent heart attack. Even smoking and a sedentary lifestyle also add up to the chances,’ Sengottuvelu said, adding that sometimes the first and only symptom of a silent heart attack could be sudden death.

To prevent oneself from silent heart attack, one should avoid consumption of fat foods, stop smoking and should do regular exercise or yoga. It is necessary for those above 35 to go for an ECG, stress test, lipid profile, sugar tests at least once in two years, he added.