Silent But Deadly

Throughout life we are unfortunately faced with horrific things like diseases and illnesses. Even worse is that they may sometimes result in death. Fortunately, when symptoms of a certain medical condition can be identified, there is still a chance of recovery. The faster symptoms or signs can be found, the quicker they can become treated. One of the many outcomes of heart disease includes myocardial infarction, better known as the heart attack. Every year, over a million people in America have heart attacks. During a myocardial infarction the blood flow to a part of the heart is blocked, causing damage or death to that area of the heart muscle. Usually, when heart attacks occur there are noticeable symptoms, which lead the person or hopefully someone else to seek for help as rapidly as they can. Although most people expect for there to be signs when a heart attack is happening, that may not always be the case with silent heart attacks.
Myocardial infarctions are commonly known to occur after a rise in physical activity, while you are sleeping, activity in cold weather, and after a sudden physical or emotional stress. Evident symptoms and signs that are well known and often looked out for, include, chest pain (that may also move to other parts of the body like the arms,
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shoulders, neck, etc.), discomfort, pressure, indigestion, sweating, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, weakness, anxiety, shortness of breath, and rapid or irregular heartbeats. These symptoms can last for thirty minutes or longer. Heart attacks can be deadly; therefore everyone should be aware of their seriousness. However, most people believe that the only way to recognize a heart attack is to only be attentive to such symptoms.
Silent heart attacks, although not well known, are more common than heart attacks that are apparent. Not many people know about silent heart attacks because of the not so easy to recognize symptoms. They are equally as deadly as regular heart attacks, if not, worse. Myocardial infarctions are easily identified with heart damage, diagnosed, and then put into medical records. But silent myocardial infarctions that are also indicated by heart damage lack any medical records. According to reports by JAMA (The Journal of the American Medical Association), silent heart attacks are actually twice as common as noticeable ones. Death rates doubled as well. Even though recognizable myocardial infarctions may seem more dangerous at the moment that they’re happening,