With a result that surprised even the medical community, over half of middle aged men who suffered a sudden cardiac arrest have symptoms well in advance of their attack.
In an effort to pre-identify middle-aged men who are at a greater risk of dying of a cardiac arrest, researchers from the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute in Los Angeles gathered information from medical records of men 35-65 years of age who suffered a sudden cardiac event and paramedics who asked family members whether the victim experienced any symptoms in the hours, days or weeks before their attack.
Turns out that among the 567 cases studied, over half (53%) had advance warning of the trouble to come. Chest pain was the most common symptom, but shortness of breath, dizziness, fainting and palpitations also occurred in advance of being felled by a cardiac arrest. The majority experienced their symptoms between four weeks and one hour before the cardiac arrest.
“The findings were entirely unexpected,” said Sumeet Chugh, senior author of the study. “We never thought more than half of these middle-aged men would have had warning signs so long before their cardiac arrests. Previously we thought most people don’t have symptoms so we can’t do anything about it.”
Chugh warned that the symptoms alone don’t mean a heart attack is imminent, but if you’re in your mid-50’s or older and have one or more risk factors for heart disease, don’t ignore possible warning signs. Share your symptoms with a doctor sooner rather than later.