Silent Heart Attack in Women: Causes, Symptoms & Treatment
NTL: As all we know that half of cardiac attacks have few symptoms that can be mistaken for other less severe health conditions, increasing a person’s risk of death. It is often referred to as a “silent heart attack” because there are no classic signs of cardiac events such as severe chest pain, tightness or throbbing pain in the arms, neck, jaw, and even shortness of breath.
Severe or frequent fatigue or general physical discomfort is common in asymptomatic heart attack victims. Some who survive a silent heart attack remember mistaking them for the cold with an upset stomach and muscle aches.
A heart attack is called “silence” in the absence of typical symptoms such as chest and left arm pain, shortness of breath, sweating, and even nausea.
However, this type of infarction can be detected remotely with an electrocardiogram (ECG), thanks to a Q-wave fingerprint. Ischemic heart disease indicates the presence of underlying coronary artery disease and is often the cause or history of myocardial infarction.
Symptoms of Silent Heart Attack in Women
It is not uncommon for women with a heart attack to experience no pain. This absence of a characteristic sign leads to diagnoses that are often too late and requires special attention to other, more typical signs.
The warning signs of a silent heart attack in women are:
- A feeling of exhaustion;
- An unusual breathlessness on exertion;
- Nausea.
These signs should particularly attract attention in young women “presenting at least one cardiovascular risk factor: tobacco, stress, sedentary lifestyle, arterial hypertension, cholesterol, diabetes, etc.”, as specified by the French Federation of Cardiology.
Other symptoms can also accompany a silent heart attack:
- Unexpected feeling of weakness
- Severe and sudden fatigue
- Anxiety, nervousness
- Sensation of bloating
- Feeling of heaviness or pressure in the chest
- Pain between the shoulder blades
Causes of Silent Heart Attack
Silent Heart Attack usually develops slowly after damage to the heart. The time factor in this situation becomes the most crucial element, and the probability of defibrillation success decreases rapidly with each minute. If the symptoms are milder, the time factor is still important.
Thus, this condition follows the onset and complications of atherosclerosis, forming atherosclerotic plaques that more or less block the coronary vessels. The body feels a deficiency of oxygen when the plates are blocked leads to necrosis in the heart’s walls.
- Diabetes
- blood pressure
- smoke a cigarette
- Cholesterol
- Stress
- Inactive
- Obesity.
What Age Groups are at Risk
Certain genetic predispositions, age (55 years and older), and gender (males) are other risk factors and cannot be corrected.
The proportion of young women victims tends to increase, mainly due to smoking and obesity among this population. Postmenopausal risk is the same for both sexes.
How to Treat Silent Heart Attack
If there are suggestive symptoms (malaise, dyspnea, edema, etc.), evaluation is required. Health screening allows doctors to identify heart failure, evaluate its severity, and look for causes (post-heart attack, high blood pressure (hypertension), valvular heart disease, and cardiomyopathy).
Only your Cardiologists can tell you if you have heart failure and a stage in which your condition is progressing. Your Cardiologists will go through your medical history, including past and current problems, family history and lifestyle. As part of the physical and biological exam, your Cardiologists will check your heart, abdomen, lungs, and legs for signs of silent attack.
ECG
X-ray of the chest
TMT
Echocardiography
Cardiac catheterization (examination of the heart with wires) or coronary angiography.
Conclusion
Silent heart attacks are usually detected by an electrocardiogram (EKG) or echocardiogram. An electrocardiogram can determine whether the heart muscle is damaged. The earlier one intervenes, the higher the success rates are, as the amount of heart tissue saved is proportional to the precocity of re-perfusion.
Related: 11 Early Signs Of An Unhealthy Heart