How Do You Know if Your Having a Mini Heart Attack

Virtually one-half of all eye attacks are mistaken for less serious problems and can increase your take a chance of dying from coronary artery disease.

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You can accept a heart assault and not even know it. A silent heart attack, known every bit a silent myocardial infarction (SMI), account for 45% of heart attacks and strike men more than women.

They are described every bit "silent" because when they occur, their symptoms lack the intensity of a classic center attack, such every bit extreme chest pain and pressure; stabbing hurting in the arm, neck, or jaw; sudden shortness of jiff; sweating, and dizziness.

"SMI symptoms can feel and so mild, and be then brief, they frequently get confused for regular discomfort or another less serious trouble, and thus men ignore them," says Dr. Jorge Plutzky, manager of the vascular disease prevention program at Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women's Hospital.

For case, men may experience fatigue or physical discomfort and chalk information technology up to overwork, poor sleep, or some general age-related ache or pain. Other typical symptoms similar mild hurting in the throat or chest can be confused with gastric reflux, indigestion, and heartburn.

Also, the location of pain is sometimes misunderstood. With SMI, you may experience discomfort in the eye of the chest and not a sharp pain on the left side of the chest, which many people associate with a eye attack. "People tin even feel completely normal during an SMI and afterward, too, which further adds to the hazard of missing the warning signs," says Dr. Plutzky.

SMI: Unaware of possible danger

The number of people who suffer an SMI and don't realize it is alarming. A study in the Nov. x, 2015,Journal of the American Medical Clan looked at near 2,000 people ages 45 to 84 (one-half of whom were men) who were free of cardiovascular disease.

After x years, viii% had myocardial scars, which are evidence of a heart attack. Most surprising was that fourscore% of these people were unaware of their status. Overall, the prevalence of myocardial scars was five times higher in men than in women.

SMI and regular heart attacks share the same risk factors: smoking, beingness overweight, lack of practise, high blood pressure level, loftier cholesterol levels, and diabetes. They tin can be simply as unsafe, likewise. "SMI oft leaves scarring and damage to the heart, which, combined with the fact that many people who accept an SMI don't seek firsthand intendance, tin can further raise a person's risk of a second and potentially more harmful heart attack," says Dr. Plutzky. In fact, people who take an SMI and don't get treatment have a three times greater risk of dying from coronary artery disease. "A silent heart set on is a loud bespeak your torso sends that yous have some kind of underlying wellness issue that needs attention," says Dr. Plutzky.

How to go checked out

Men may not be aware they had an SMI until weeks or even months later when they see their md for a regular visit, or because of persistent symptoms like fatigue, shortness of jiff, or heartburn.

SMI is commonly detected from an electrocardiogram (EKG) or echocardiogram, which can highlight heart muscle impairment. Another method is a blood test for the molecular footprints of troponin T, a poly peptide released by injured heart cells. That examination is often used in emergency departments for patients with middle assail symptoms.

Once an SMI is diagnosed, your md tin identify your chief risk factors and help design a treatment strategy, including changing your diet, exercising regularly, and taking a statin also every bit other medication to help prevent a second heart attack .

"If you lot do notice any symptoms of a SMI, do non brush them aside, even if you exercise non think they are serious," says Dr. Plutzky. "Playing it prophylactic is ever a better movement than risking the potential harmful downside."

SMI alert signs

SMI symptoms are ofttimes mild and brief. Seek immediate medical attention if you experience one or more of the following:

• Discomfort in the center of the chest that lasts several minutes, or goes away and comes dorsum. Information technology tin can feel like an uncomfortable force per unit area, squeezing, or pain.
• Discomfort in other upper-body areas, such equally one or both arms, the back, the cervix, the jaw, or the tum.
• Shortness of breath before or during chest discomfort.
• Breaking out in a cold sweat, or feeling nauseated or airheaded.

As a service to our readers, Harvard Health Publishing provides access to our library of archived content. Please note the appointment of last review or update on all manufactures. No content on this site, regardless of engagement, should ever be used as a substitute for direct medical advice from your physician or other qualified clinician.

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Source: https://www.health.harvard.edu/heart-health/the-danger-of-silent-heart-attacks

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