Silent Heart Attacks: Women Are The Victims In Disguise

Almost 50 percent of the heart attacks suffered by patients may be silent, according to a new study conducted in the United States. Such heart attacks do not result in any symptoms that usually appear in patients, including shortness of breath, chest pain and cold sweat.

During the study, the researchers found that just like normal heart attacks, silent heart attacks are more common in men than in women. However, the conditions seem to kill more women than men.

The research team from the Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, North Carolina found that women were 58 percent more likely to get killed from a silent heart attack, as compared to women with no heart attack.

On the contrary, men with silent heart attack were only 23 percent more likely to die from it, as compared to men without a heart attack.

The research team also found that overall, silent heart attack increases the risk of dying from a heart condition by almost three times. In addition, it increases the risk of dying from any other condition by 34 percent.

To assess the how prevalent silent heart attacks are, the researchers studied a total of 9,500 middle-aged adults. Nearly 50 percent of the participants were followed for more than 13 years.

During the follow-up period, 386 subjects suffered a heart attack with classic symptoms that are easy to identify, and 317 people suffered from a silent heart attack. Out of a total of 1,833 deaths during the study period, 189 took place because of heart-related conditions.

The death rate was significantly higher in women, despite the fact that more men suffered a heart attack. The researchers believe that the death rate is higher among women because of less referral to cardiac rehab or less use of medical therapies.

The complete details of the study have been published in the journal Circulation.