We come across cases of sudden
cardiac death quite often. And, upon enquiring from the family, we find that
preceding symptoms in the last 24 hours are common.
Most heart attacks, to
begin with, are often not painful but recognizable enough in that the condition
may present as pressure or discomfort or burning pain in the chest,
feeling of fullness in the center of the chest, which may come and go, also
called ‘stuttering’ chest pain and increase with activity and relieved with
rest. There may also be unexplained exhaustion/fatigue, or unexplained
breathlessness or anxiety or nausea.
Eventually these symptoms
increase in intensity and frequency and present as the classical chest pain of
heart attack, unless the patient has diabetes.
People often ignore such
symptoms. At times, they are in denial about the true cause of such symptoms:
“I am too young to have a heart attack”, “All my blood tests are normal”, “My
treadmill test is negative”, “I am only a casual smoker” etc.
Most are unaware that
these ‘soft’ symptoms are important enough to be evaluated by a
cardiologist/physician.
‘Soft’ symptoms are early
warning symptoms that appear before the actual ‘typical’ presentation of the
impending disease and often provide a clue to the diagnosis. Hence, if you
suspect that you are experiencing early symptoms of a heart attack or pre heart
attack symptoms, it is important to get yourself evaluated.
Timely consultation with a
doctor and treatment at this stage can avert the onset of disease in many
cases, which may be potentially life-threatening in some cases.
Just as a ‘smoke detector’
detects smoke, an indicator of fire, such ‘soft’ symptoms should be taken note
of as they are warning signs of an oncoming heart attack.
Disclaimer: The views
expressed in this write up are entirely my own.
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