Cardiovascular diseases remain one of the biggest killers in the modern age, and heart attacks are all too common. However, nearly half of all heart attacks may have no symptoms at all.
According to Heart.Org, these heart attacks are though silent, but are equally dangerous, as compared to any regular heart attack. "Silent" heart attacks account for 45 percent of all attacks in the US, as per a study published in the journal Circulation.
“The outcome of a silent heart attack is as bad as a heart attack that is recognized while it is happening,” said Elsayed Z. Soliman study senior author. “And because patients don’t know they have had a silent heart attack, they may not receive the treatment they need to prevent another one.”
Coming to the question, can these attacks be detected? Yes, Silent heart attacks can be detected by electrocardiogram (EKG), which measures the heart's electrical activity. “Doctors need to help patients who have had a silent heart attack quit smoking, reduce their weight, control cholesterol and blood pressure and get more exercise,” added Soliman.
The study covers 26 years of tracking more than 9,000 men and women during 1987 to 2013 and evaluated their medical records. It was revealed that nine years after the study began, 386 people were reported to have had a heart attack, while another 317 of the participants found to have experienced a silent heart attack.
According to CNN, men are more likely to experience these silent attacks. However, women are more likely to die from these attacks. “Women with a silent heart attack appear to fare worse than men,” Soliman said.
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