CBS 19 - The Eye of East Texas News - Attacking "Silent" Heart Attacks

Attacking "Silent" Heart Attacks

By Amanda Kost

"The green line at the bottom is our EKG, tells us kind of where they are on their cardiac cycle," said Roxi Pinkerton a Cardiac Sonographer for Tyler Cardiovascular Consultants. 

Heart attacks are caused by a closure in the artery around the heart.  "Most people think it's related to severe pressure chest pain," but Dr. Roderick Meese with Tyler Cardiovascular Consultants said that's not always the case.

"There's about a third of the patients who have either very subtle symptoms or no symptoms at the same time, they've had a heart attack," explained Dr. Meese.  They're known as "silent" or undiagnosed heart attacks.  "The key is so many people not only are undiagnosed, they're very surprised when they find they've had a previous heart attack," added Dr. Meese. 

That's because those patients missed the warning signs.  "If you feel suddenly short of breath, you break out in a cold sweat, you have numbness in your arms, or just severe fatigue that might be a sign of a heart attack," said Dr. Meese.

Bottom line, get checked out.  "Especially if you have other risk factors and especially if you're a woman who really has a feeling that's different than you think it should," added Dr. Meese.

Putting your health first can save your heart and your life.  "Don't die of embarrassment.  Don't worry that somebody's going to judge you because you didn't have the classic signs of a heart attack," concluded Dr. Meese.