There are four signs and symptoms that one can easily decipher to ascertain if someone has developed a silent heart attack, research conducted by University of Pennsylvania, PennMedicine reveals.
The common image of a heart attack often involves a sudden, intense pain that causes someone to grimace, clutch their chest, and collapse.
A silent heart attack is just as dangerous as a regular heart attack, though it may be mild or severe depending on the circumstances. It often goes unnoticed, particularly when blood flow is obstructed by substances like fat and cholesterol.
However, a silent heart attack can be prevented by being aware of the following four signs and symptoms:
Discomfort or pain in the chest
Whether mild or intense, pain or discomfort in the chest is a symptom of a silent heart attack. The pain might be that of pressure, fullness, or other mild or difficult forms of pain right at the centre of the chest.
Body pain
While you might always want to consider body pain a result of the stress you have put yourself under, it might as well be a sign or a symptom of a silent heart attack. However, body pain varies from person to person and can be felt on the arm, back, jaw, and even the stomach!
Dizziness
In the same way that body pain varies from person to person, the same is dizziness. In addition, it might further lapse into shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, especially after carrying out very simple tasks such as lifting a fully-filled cylinder gas cooker.
Another sign or symptom identified by the University of Pennsylvania is nausea (and cold sweat). Sometimes, you can wake up with unidentified streams of sweat and further feel so nauseated that you want to throw up or vomit.