Many Ignore These Symptoms of a Silent Heart Attack: They Can Be Fatal
A silent heart attack can go completely unnoticed, yet the consequences can be fatal. A heart attack occurs when blood flow to the heart muscle is suddenly blocked, most often due to a clot.
If the heart doesn’t receive oxygen, it can lead to irreversible tissue damage or death.
While symptoms like intense chest pressure or shortness of breath are well known, some heart attacks present with unusual signs or no symptoms at all.
The British Heart Foundation (BHF) estimates that as many as one third of heart attacks are “silent,” meaning they are not recognized in time.
A doctor explains: “Not all heart attacks look like they do in the movies.” Dr. Sermed Mezher shared on TikTok an example of a patient who thought food was stuck in his throat.
It turned out to be a heart attack, caused by a complete blockage of an artery supplying a major part of the heart.
“Such heart attacks may only manifest as mild discomfort, like a lump in the throat or slight difficulty breathing,” said Dr. Mezher, noting that atypical symptoms are especially common in women, according to the Daily Express.
He also emphasized the importance of timely recognition: “If help is delayed too long, the damage to the heart becomes more severe. In this case, if help had arrived just 10 minutes later, the patient probably wouldn’t have survived.”
Who Is at Greater Risk?
Silent heart attacks can happen to anyone, but they are more likely to affect:
- older adults, whose symptoms may be attributed to other medical conditions
- people with diabetes, who may not feel pain due to nerve damage
Possible Symptoms of a Heart Attack:
- chest pain (feeling of pressure, tightness, or burning)
- pain spreading to arms, jaw, neck, back, or abdomen
- dizziness, nausea, vomiting
- sweating, shortness of breath, feeling of anxiety
- coughing
