Silent heart attack: Know what it is, what are the risk factors, how to prevent it

As per reports, a 17 year old boy from Madhya Pradesh's Ujjain has succumbed to silent heart attack on Sunday. The boy is the son of the assistant priest of Mahakaleshwar temple. He participated in a procession on the occasion of Rang Panchami.

A video of the boy is going viral on social media where we can see him doing sword acts inside a temple premise.


Onlookers said the boy felt restless during the sword wielding act and his health deteriorated. He was rushed to hospital immediately.


This incident draws our attention to a serious health condition called silent heart attack, which many have said to be the reason for the young boy's death.

Silent heart attack as the name suggests is when the heart attack happens silently without any symptoms. In this case, the signs lack the intensity of a heart attack. Though it appears similar to a heart attack it is way more damaging than it because in this case the patient does not show or feel any signs.

"A silent heart attack, known as a silent myocardial infarction (SMI), account for 45% of heart attacks and strike men more than women," a Harvard report says.

As is the name, the signs of silent heart attack are so mild that the patient often confuses it with something less serious which delays getting medical help.

"Silent heart attack symptoms can feel so mild, and be so brief, they often get confused for regular discomfort or another less serious problem, and thus men ignore them," says Dr. Jorge Plutzky, director of the vascular disease prevention program at Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women's Hospital.

The common signs of heart attack which are chest tightness, chest pain, tight pressure in the chest, stabbing pain in the arm, neck, jaw and sudden shortness of breath are normally not seen in silent heart attacks. Hence, these are the signs one should be careful of.

The patient should be rushed to the hospital immediately.

A 2015 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association observed 2,000 people within the age group of 45 to 84 age who did not have cardiovascular disease.

10 years later, the researchers found that around 80% of them had myocardial scars which was proof that they had a heart attack.

"Most surprising was that 80% of these people were unaware of their condition. Overall, the prevalence of myocardial scars was five times higher in men than in women," the study found.

The risk factors of silent heart attack are similar to that of heart attacks which are smoking, being overweight or obesity, lack of exercise, high blood pressure, high levels of cholesterol and metabolic disorders like diabetes.

Silent heart attacks, though do not usually show any signs, have a long lasting damaging effect on the body.

Though it is silent in nature, it is a loud and amplifying signal that your body needs more attention than before.
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