Silent heart attacks comprise 45 per cent of all heart attacks, stated a recent study published in the American Heart Journal. Normal symptoms like chest pain, shortness of breath and cold sweats were absent in these cases.
A silent heart attack occurs when the blood flow to the heart muscle is severely reduced or cut off completely. Silent heart attacks are often fatal, leading to instant death.
Women not exempted from silent attacks
The study states that people should not dismiss symptoms such as fatigue, nausea or shortness of breath that occur when exercising or running errands. If the shortness of breath goes away after rest, then an expert must be consulted as there could be a blockage leading to this condition.
Most silent heart attacks are truly silent with no symptoms at all. A few symptoms which are now being recognised after various research and studies are continuous and constant breathlessness after an activity, acute discomfort in the abdomen, gassy feeling, continuous and severe pain in the neck and arm.
Experts say that earlier it was believed that silent heart attacks occur only in men, but increasing cases of cardiovascular diseases in women show that they are also not exempted.
Dr Sunil Kapoor, senior consultant cardiologist at Apollo Hospitals said, “Silent heart attacks occur in men as well as women. They are not exempted from it and their symptoms too are the same. Those suffering from diabetes mellitus, severe acidity and cervical spondylosis must monitor themselves regularly as these are the common causes of silent heart attacks. Silent heart attacks can be detected on echocardiogram or blood tests like Troponin T or CPKMB.”
More common in women above 55 years of age
Nearly 5 to 10 per cent of heart attacks are silent, as observed in the clinical practice in India. Fifty to 60 per cent of patients come to hospitals within a couple of days of the primary attack with symptoms of breathing difficulties.
Thirty to 40 per cent of cases go completely undetected or undiagnosed.
Dr A. Sharath Reddy, consultant interventional cardiologist and vascular specialist at Maxcure Hospitals said, “In the last one decade, we are finding that silent heart attacks are more common in women above 55. This was not seen earlier but now with changing lifestyles, more and more women are susceptible to it. Hence it is becoming more important that they are aware of the symptoms so that they can reach the hospital for help. In the case of men with high levels of awareness, they are able to reach hospitals in case of primary attacks, making it easy to handle their case in case of a major silent attack.”
5 symptoms to watch out for which have been commonly observed in women in India:
1 Chest pain is one of the most common heart attack symptoms, but some women may experience it differently compared to men. It may feel like a squeezing or fullness, and the pain can be anywhere in the chest, not just on the left side.
2 Pain in arm(s), back, neck, or jaw. It may confuse women who expect their pain to be focused on their chest and left arm, not their back or jaw. The pain can be gradual or sudden, and may appear and vanish before becoming severe. It might shake one up when sleeping too.
3 Shortness of breath, nausea, or light-headedness. Having trouble for no actual reason? You could be having a heart attack.
4 Breaking out in a nervous, cold sweat is common among women having a heart attack. It will feel more like stress-related sweating than perspiration from exercising or spending time outside in the heat.
5 Some women who have heart attacks feel extremely tired, even if they have been sitting still for a while or have not moved much. Patients often complain of tiredness in the chest.
