Nearly half
of all heart attacks may be ‘silent’ and display no obvious symptoms, but
significantly increase the risk of death. A heart attack does not always have
classic symptoms, such as pain in the chest, shortness of breath and cold
sweats. It can occur without symptoms which is called a silent heart attack
(when the blood flow to the heart muscle is severely reduced or cut off
completely).
The outcome
of a silent heart attack is as bad as a heart attack that is recognized while
it is happening and because patients do not know they have had a silent heart
attack, they may not receive the treatment they need. Researchers analyzed the records
of 9,498 middle-aged people enrolled in the Atherosclerosis Risk in
Communities, a study analyzing the causes and outcomes of atherosclerosis –
hardening of the arteries.
They examined
heart attack differences between blacks and whites as well as men and women. Over
an average of none years after the start of the study, 317 participants had
silent heart attacks while 386 had heart attacks with clinical symptoms. They continued
to follow participants for more than two decades to track deaths from heart
attack and other diseases.
The silent
heart attacks made up 45% of all heart attacks and increased the chances of
death by a heart disease by three times. They found all causes by 34% and were
more common in men but more likely to cause death in women. This study also
suggested that blacks may fare worse than whites. Symptoms of silent heart
attacks are barely noticed, if at all. They are detected later, usually when
patients undergo and electrocardiogram.

