Just today the American Heart Association published an article on silent myocardial infractions, found that 45% of heart attacks in the United States are “silent” —and the people having them, don’t even realize they are happening.
Thing is… these heart attacks don’t actually cause the classic symptoms of chest and arm pain, we usually associate with heart attacks and yet, they are doing just as much damage as the recognizable heart attacks do. What’s even worse is that because patients don’t actually know the silent heart attack is happening, they may not get the treatment they need, or get on the preventative medications to thwart another episode from happening.
The study found that… Out of the 9,500 middle-aged men and women, who took part in a heart disease risk study. 317 had “silent” heart attacks and 386 had heart attacks that were noticed right away, Nine years into the study!
Silent Heart Attacks are known as the Silent Killer, because the patient is not aware of the infarction and the heart becomes permanently damaged. People most likely to experience Silent Heart Attacks are individuals who… have diabetes, are women, men or women over the age of 65, anyone who has suffered a heart attack or is prone to suffering strokes.
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Experiencing these symptoms?
- Fatigue
- Sore Back, Arms or Chest
- Shortness of Breath
- Heartburn
- Upset Stomach
- Throat, Neck & Jaw Discomfort
Noticing Heart Attack signs early save your life…
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You see, heart attacks disrupt the heart’s electrical activity, hence are detected when patients get an electrocardiogram (EKG) and blood testing for cardiac enzymes, but the most important treatment for Silent Heart Attacks is restoring the blood flow to the heart. It is imperative to note that ANY Heart Attack, silent or otherwise, is caused when a blockage in the valves of the heart cause the blood flow to the heart to be halted, damaging the organ’s muscle.
Patients who suffer Silent Heart Attacks need aggressive treatment, because they are 3X’s more likely to die of heart disease. More commonly occurring in men, Silent Heart Attacks are actually deadlier for women, who are more likely to die than men from this episode.
YTip: Aggressive treatment = lowering cholesterol levels, lowering sugar intake, lowering blood pressure, quitting smoking, losing weight, encouraging exercise. If Coronary Heart Disease is genetic in your family and you are predisposed to incurring heart failure, your cardiologist may need to place you on a blood thinner or a low-dose aspirin regimen. Looking for a way to prevent Heart Disease? Try switching up your diet, to one lower in salt, sugar and artery-clogging types of fat, by eating more fruits, vegetables and whole grains!
YFact: More than 1 Million Americans suffer Heart Attacks every year, making Heart Disease the No. 1 killer in the United States and family history of heart disease is a primary risk factor for Millennials.
Here’s a little 411 on me and my family. I come from a family with a history of Coronary Heart Disease, where just about every member of my father’s family has suffered from Heart Disease. When my Grandmother suffered a Stroke under the age of 62, that automatically put me at high risk for developing Heart Disease, because of my genetic predisposition. I maintain a healthy diet based on fresh fruits and vegetables, along with whole grains and steer clear of fatty sugars- in order to maintain a healthy heart!
Make sure that you too are aware of your family history, because it does matter! As Millennials we take our heart for granted and mistreat it, we feed it harmful substances and we don’t care for it with the LOVE it needs, so if you can take anything from this Y Life post today…
Know Your Heart, Love Your Heart!