The Danger Of 'Silent' Heart Attacks

About half of all heart attacks are mistaken for less serious problems and can increase your risk of dying from coronary artery disease.

You can have a heart attack and not even know it. A silent heart attack, known as silent myocardial infarction (SMI), accounts for 45% of heart attacks and strikes men more than women.

They are described as ‘silent’ because when they occur, their symptoms lack the intensity of a classic heart attack, such as extreme chest pain and pressure; stabbing pain in the arm, neck, or jaw; sudden shortness of breath; sweating, and dizziness.

“SMI symptoms can feel so mild, and be so brief, they often get confused for regular discomfort or another less serious problem, and thus men ignore them,” says Dr Jorge Plutzky, director of the vascular disease prevention programme at Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

For instance, men may feel fatigue or physical discomfort and chalk it up to overwork, poor sleep, or some general age-related ache or pain. Other typical symptoms like mild pain in the throat or chest can be confused with gastric reflux, indigestion and heartburn.

Also, the location of pain is sometimes misunderstood. With SMI, you may feel discomfort in the centre of the chest and not a sharp pain on the left side of the chest, which many people associate with a heart attack. “People can even feel completely normal during an SMI and afterward, too, which further adds to the chance of missing the warming signs,” says Dr Plutzky.

Unaware of possible danger