According to Dr. Deebanshu Gupta (cardiologist at Sarvodaya Hospital, Jalandhar, India), a silent heart attack will not have obvious symptoms. However, medically, this condition is still caused by a decrease in blood flow to the heart, usually due to arterial blockage.
The difference with a common heart attack lies in the patient's feelings. Instead of severe chest pains, patients only feel mild discomfort or even no symptoms. Therefore, many people often mistake silent heart attack for fatigue or muscle tension.
Studies from the American Heart Association (AHA) show that 1 in 5 heart attacks is silent. They are often not fully diagnosed because the symptoms are mild or absent; people do not seek medical help or periodic heart tests are not performed.
Common causes of silent heart attack are often due to blocked coronary arteries, high cholesterol levels, diabetes, smoking or sedentary lifestyle.
Even if it is unclear, you should also pay attention if there are signs of discomfort or mild pressure in the chest area; abnormal, unexplained fatigue; shortness of breath, dizziness, nausea; pain in the jaw, back or arms.
The group at high risk of silent heart attack is often elderly people, women (who often have atypical symptoms), smokers, obese people, high blood pressure or high cholesterol. In particular, people with diabetes need to be vigilant because nerve damage can reduce pain signals.
Due to faint symptoms, detection is often based on periodic medical tests such as:
Electrocardiogram (ECG): Detects past heart lesions.
Heart ultrasound: Assess blood pumping function.
Blood test: Look for signs of myocardial damage.
Missing warnings from silent pain triplicates the risk of death from heart disease. Long-term complications include heart failure, irregular heartbeat, and the risk of severe heart attack recurrence.
To prevent, experts recommend maintaining a healthy lifestyle (exercising for at least 30 minutes each day), controlling blood sugar and blood pressure, quitting smoking and managing stress. The most important thing is to have regular health check-ups to promptly detect silent injuries.
