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Last Updated: Feb 18th, 2008 - 14:39:01 |
LONDON (Reuters) - Mild heart attacks in four out of nine people are undetected because patients do not recognise or dismiss the symptoms, Dutch scientists said on Tuesday.
Women, particularly those who are overweight, diabetics and the elderly are more likely to have an undiagnosed heart attack which increases their risk of suffering future cardiac problems.
"We found an incidence of nine heart attacks in 1,000 people from the general population above the age of 55. Four out of nine were clinically not recognised by the people themselves or their doctor," said Dr Eric Boersma, of the Erasmus Medical Centre in Rotterdam.
Although the findings, which are reported in the European Heart Journal, are based a study of 4,000 men and women in the Netherlands, Boersma said they are likely to apply to any developed country.
Heart attack is a leading cause of death in industrialised nations. Chest pain is the most common but by no means the only sign that sufferers notice.
"They may sense shoulder pain instead of chest pain, they may think they have severe flu that is taking a long time to recover from," he told Reuters.
In the study, Boersma and his colleagues studied patients who had not had a heart attack. All had an examination and an electrocardiogram (ECG).
The researchers followed up the patients for a median time of more than 6 years. The patients were also given at least one repeat ECG to assess undiagnosed heart attacks.
They found that overall 43 percent of heart attacks had not been recognised -- a third of heart attacks in men and more than half of those in women.
Diagnosing people who have suffered a heart attack is important to prevent future heart problems. Doctors can recommend lifestyle changes or prescribe aspirin or drugs to prevent another attack.
Smoking, high blood pressure, raised cholesterol levels, being overweight and lack of exercise increase the odds of heart attack.
Cardiovascular disease accounts for 29.2 percent of total global deaths, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). About 20 million people survive heart attack and stroke each year but many require long-term treatment.
"Women should be aware that with increasing age there is a definitely a probability that they will suffer a heart attack," said Boersma. "The medical community should invest in screening for silent heart attacks because we know those people are at risk of future cardiac events."
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