Heart Health

2/15/2022

Knowing heart attack symptoms and triggers can save a life

Eric Cohen, M.D.
ENMMG Interventional Cardiology and Vascular Medicine

Heart disease is the number-one killer in the United States, of both men and women. More than one million Americans suffer from heart attacks every year, according to the American Heart Association (AHA). But you can reduce your risk by being knowledgeable about heart health.

Each summer, there are hot-weather tragic stories of seasoned athletes collapsing and dying due to an undetected heart condition. Heart attacks can happen to anyone, regardless of your age and fitness level. While advancing age and certain chronic health conditions are certainly risk factors, it’s important to monitor your heart health and know the various causes, or triggers, for a heart attack. Knowing your risk and taking steps to prevent heart problems can help keep your heart healthy for life.

Not all heart attacks are recognized and treated, according to a recent study at Duke University Medical Center. Hypertension or high blood pressure is the leading cause of coronary artery disease and stroke. Hypertension is called the “silent killer” because about one-third of the people with this condition do not know that they have it. It accounts for 40 to 60 percent of all heart attacks.

Risk factors for silent heart attacks are the same as for regular heart attacks – smoking, diabetes, stress, and family history – and these heart episodes occur more frequently than physicians had previously thought. A study funded by the National Institutes of Health and published in April 2009 examined 185 patients who had never been diagnosed as having a heart attack but were at risk for coronary artery disease. Researchers found that 35 percent of these patients had evidence of a prior heart attack and that these asymptomatic heart attacks were three times more common than those heart attacks that manifested themselves in more traditional ways – and more deadly, increasing the risk of death by 11 times in two years.

Individuals who suffered these silent attacks often experienced a symptom they did not attribute to heart trouble, and had another risk factor for heart disease, such as high cholesterol or high blood pressure.

Common heart attack warning signs

According to the AHA, heart attack warning signs typically begin slowly, with mild pain or discomfort. The AHA considers the following symptoms as warning signs of a heart attack:

• Chest discomfort, such as uncomfortable pressure, squeezing, fullness or pain
• Pain in one or both arms, the back, neck, jaw or stomach
• Shortness of breath, with or without chest discomfort
• Cold sweat, nausea or lightheadedness

Additional heart attack symptoms include: a weak feeling, sudden dizziness, a pounding heart, shortness of breath, heavy perspiration, a feeling of impending doom, nausea and vomiting. Notably, women and men often experience different heart attack symptoms. Women are more likely to have non-traditional heart attack symptoms like fatigue, indigestion and sleep disturbances. Up to 43 percent of women experience no chest pain prior to or during a heart attack, according to research by the National Institutes of Health.

Heart attack triggers

A heart attack may seem to come from nowhere, but this is rarely the case. The timing is determined by heart attack triggers, which are different from symptoms. While a symptom is a physical condition or sign that may indicate the occurrence of a heart attack, a trigger is a situation that can make a heart attack more likely – especially when combined with an existing condition or risk factor.

A trigger may tip the balance when the person has a known or unknown heart attack risk factor but does not, by itself, cause a heart attack.  

Some common heart triggers, according to Harvard University Medical School researchers, include:

• Waking up from sleep
  The body releases stress hormones into the bloodstream just before we awaken, which helps us to wake up but can also place stress on the heart. This, along with overnight dehydration, may explain why heart attacks commonly occur in the morning.
• Heavy physical exertion
  Unusual bouts of heavy exercise can cause a heart attack in people who are not accustomed to that level of physical activity. However, regular exercise can also protect your heart.
• Stress, anger or grief
  Harvard researchers report that an attack of anger can increase the risk of heart attack by more than 14 times in the two subsequent hours. And a negative personal relationship can also hurt the heart. According to a study by epidemiologists at University College London, relationship problems can increase heart attack risk by 34 percent.
• Infections
  Illnesses such as the flu and pneumonia can trigger heart attacks and strokes.

Other potential triggers: overeating, drug abuse and lack of sleep.

Talk with your doctor to learn more about your risk level for heart attacks and any lifestyle modifications you can take now to keep your heart healthy or to schedule an appointment with Dr. Cohen go to https://www.easternnewmexicomedicalgroup.com/doctors-providers/cohen-eric-md-7257.

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