The body gives signals before a heart attack, are you also ignoring them?

News Topical, Digital Desk : Heart attacks have become a serious and rapidly growing problem these days. People often think that heart attacks come suddenly, but the truth is that our bodies begin to give signs weeks in advance. Often, ignoring or taking these symptoms lightly can lead to major problems. According to global estimates, heart disease remains the leading cause of death worldwide, accounting for approximately 18 million deaths each year. 
So can your body really warn you of a heart attack weeks in advance? In many cases, yes. Dr. Vivek Kumar, head of the Structural Heart Program, says symptoms can appear days or even weeks in advance, but they're not always severe. It could be a strange feeling of fatigue that doesn't go away, or a mild chest pressure that comes and goes. Some people may experience shortness of breath while doing everyday tasks, while others may feel nothing at all. 

Early symptoms that people ignore

There are some symptoms of a heart attack that can appear days or weeks before the actual attack. Dr. Vineet Bhatia, Director of Interventional Cardiology, explains that the initial symptoms often include mild chest pain or pressure, unusual fatigue, shortness of breath, indigestion-like discomfort, and pain radiating to the jaw, neck, or back. Difficulty breathing, a rapid or irregular heartbeat, and dizziness are also early signs. Many patients later report that they ignored the fatigue or mistook the chest discomfort for gas, which can later lead to a painful heart attack. 

Symptoms may be different in women

Dr. Vivek Kumar explains that the symptoms can be different in men and women. While chest pain is the most common symptom in men, in women, instead of severe chest pain, problems like fatigue, nausea, or shortness of breath are more common, due to which it becomes a little more difficult to identify the risk of heart attack in women. 

Tests are not always accurate

It is possible that the results of routine tests may come back negative, such as ECG may not show any problem in the heart rhythm, and the results of blood tests may be normal. The report also states that sometimes even routine medical tests may not detect the risk of heart attack. Hidden risks may arise unexpectedly and may lead to an immediate heart attack. Therefore, never ignore any symptoms regardless of the initial test results. 

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