What signs indicate a silent heart attack? What distinguishes them from the signs of a typical heart attack? Here is all this information, in addition to other information of interest to you about this case, in the following article.
Learn more about the signs of a silent heart attack (SHA), also known as a silent myocardial infarction (SMI), in this article. This article also compares these signs to those of a typical heart attack.
Symptoms of a silent heart attack
This type of heart attack, which makes up about 45% of cases of this disease, is referred to as silent because its symptoms are mild and short-lived rather than severe and severe like those of typical heart attacks.
Due to the fact that this type of heart attack is more common in men than in women, the patient may fail to notice it or disregard it because they believe it to be a simple case of exhaustion.
Symptoms of a silent heart attack include:
- Feeling general fatigue and exhaustion.
- Sore throat.
- Pain in the middle of the chest.
Symptoms require immediate medical attention
A silent heart attack is considered a medical emergency and necessitates immediate medical attention if one or more of the following symptoms are present:
- Continuous disturbing feeling in the chest: This is in the event that the feeling of pain or pressure in the middle of the chest continues for more than a few minutes.
- Shortness of breath: before or during chest pain.
- Cold sweats : Or the person may feel dizzy or nauseous instead.
- Disturbing feeling elsewhere in the body: This is in one or more of the following areas of the upper body: the arm or both arms, the back, the neck, the jaw, and the stomach.
The difference between the symptoms of a silent heart attack and a normal heart attack
The only difference between a silent heart attack and a regular heart attack is that the symptoms of a silent heart attack are so mild that the patient may not be aware of them. Regardless, both heart attacks are caused by an interruption in blood flow to the heart, which may result in damage to the heart muscle.
The following table contrasts the signs of a silent heart attack with those of a regular heart attack:
| Symptoms of a silent heart attack |
The usual symptoms of a heart attack |
| Feeling flu-like symptoms |
Chest pain that lasts for more than a few minutes |
| Pain in the chest muscles or upper back muscles |
Shortness of breath |
| one or more of the following body parts are painful:
|
Feeling of discomfort in the upper part of the body. |
| Extreme fatigue |
Dizziness |
| Indigestion |
Sweating in a cold sweat |
| Feeling of nausea followed by vomiting |
|
| feeling extremely exhausted for days on end with no apparent cause |
Diagnosing a silent heart attack
Since a person may not experience any symptoms of a silent heart attack, the condition can be diagnosed through routine physical examinations. If the doctor suspects that the patient is experiencing symptoms, he may also order a series of tests to look for damage to the heart muscle, which would indicate the presence of a heart attack.
The following are the most popular techniques for identifying silent heart attack symptoms:
- Clinical examination.
- Blood tests.
- Electrocardiogram - ECG.
- Computed tomography scan - CTS.
- Magnetic resonance imaging - MRI.
- Echocardiogram .
- Exercise stress test - EST.
- Nuclear stress test - NST.