More than one million Americans suffer heart attacks each year. While some will experience telltale signs such as chest pains, shortness of breath and rapid or irregular heartbeats, 45% show no symptoms at all.
If you have a silent heart attack, you likely may not know until tests after the fact confirm it. An EKG or ECG test that measures electrical activity in the heart can still detect lingering effects of a silent heart attack. Some patients diagnosed with having had a silent heart attack look back on their symptoms that at the time they mistook for indigestion, muscle pain, nausea or the flu.
Certain factors put you at risk of suffering a silent heart attack or a symptomatic heart attack. They include:
- Family history of heart disease
- Smoking or chewing tobacco
- High cholesterol or high blood pressure
- Diabetes
- Lack of exercise
- Being overweight
- Age
Silent heart attacks aren’t any less concerning than heart attacks that have symptoms. Studies show that one out of every four people who suffer a heart attack will develop heart failure.
Some people ask what is the difference between the two? A heart attack is a single event that can cause heart failure because of muscle damage that occurs. Heart failure develops overtime when the body doesn’t pump blood the way it should. Signs of heart failure include:
- Shortness of breath
- Being tired or run-down
- Coughing or wheezing
- Swelling in feet, ankles and legs
- Weight gain from fluid buildup
- Confusion/not thinking clearly
The keys to preventing a heart attack or heart failure are adopting healthy habits and scheduling regular visits with your physician. Checkups and tests can monitor your heart’s health and allow you to change habits as needed to live a heart healthy life.
