Heart attack often comes with a number of symptoms, including chest pain, shortness of breath, cold sweats, etc. However, it may occur without any symptoms at times, lending the name ‘silent heart attack’.

Although a silent heart attack is quite different from a usual heart attack, the damage caused by the former is no different than the complexities caused by the latter. A silent heart attack can also cause scarring and damage to the heart muscles, explain leading cardiologists at AMRI Hospitals in Kolkata.

Many patients experience symptoms such as fatigue and other such problems, which prompt doctors to suggest an MRI or EKG that discovers a silent heart attack. The traces of a silent heart attack can be seen even after weeks or month of its occurrence.

A patient doesn't even recognize a silent heart attack, which makes it more dangerous than the usual heart attack. A silent heart attack happens when the flow of blood is clocked in the coronary arteries due to the buildup of plague. There is no difference in the risk factors of a recognized heart attack and a silent heart attack. Some of the common risk factors include high blood pressure, high cholesterol, smoking, family history of heart ailments, obesity, etc.

A silent heart attack puts the patient at a greater risk of other heart problems, warn cardiologists at AMRI Hospitals. Since the person is unaware of the problem for a longer period of time, blood flow to the heart is not restored for months after the silent heart attack. Without medication, the problems tend to increase with time.

Thus, it is important to keep a track of your heart health and ensure regular health checkups to detect such problems early. With timely detection, one can prevent further damage and adopt a heart healthy lifestyle.