A study published in the medical journal Circulation reveals that one in two heart attacks is “silent”, meaning that it does not cause any of the classic symptoms of pressure in the chest. pain in the left arm, shortness of breath, sweating or nausea. Yet, according to Dr Elsayed Soliman of the Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in North Carolina (USA), who led this study, “this type of heart attack does as much damage as a more classic heart attack. Since patients do not know they have had a heart problem, they cannot receive the adequate treatment that would allow them to prevent another. “.
Three times the risk of dying from cardiovascular disease
For this study, Dr Soliman and his team looked at the medical records of 9,500 men and women who participated in a heart risk study. During the 9 years of this study, 317 had had a “silent” heart attack and 386 an heartstroke with typical symptoms. This means that heart attacks without symptoms accounted for 45% of the group’s heart attacks. Note that a “silent” heart attack can still be detected later on an EKG because it leaves an imprint on the heart.
Each participant was then followed for 20 years. The researchers then found that silent heart attacks tripled the risk of dying from heart disease later in life. Doctors also noted that this type of heart attack was more common in men. than in women.
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