Research Claims To Show Warning Signs of Heart Attack a Day Prior

Heart attack, in medical terms known as Myocardial infarction (MI), has been the leading cause of death all over the world. It is mostly fatal, if quick medical attention is not provided.

Due to the unannounced nature of heart attacks, there has been much research going on in order to find out the symptoms early on or reduce the chances of it occurring in the first place. This makes heart attacks an important topic of research. A recent study that gained limelight was conducted at the Smidt Heart Institute at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles.

The research states that 50 percent of cardiac patients experience physical symptoms a day before a heart attack. This is a ground-breaking discovery, considering every year there are innumerable deaths due to heart attacks.

The article was published in the journal Lancet Digital Health. The main highlight of this research is that both men and women face different and clear symptoms before a day of the attack.

This research can be helpful in providing a new perspective in order to bring prevention and treatment for this life-threatening heart condition.

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Warning Signs of Heart Attack Based on Gender

Seizure-like symptoms are a precursor to a heart attack (Image by Drazen Zigic on Freepik)

The most relevant thing about this research is the symptoms for both men and women are different.

In women, the symptoms include shortness of breath a day prior to the attack. While in men the symptoms shown are different that is, chest pain a day before the attack. This difference in symptoms implies the importance of understanding the gender-specific symptoms that are shown a day prior. And provide treatment to the individual accordingly.

There are other warning signs apart from chest pain and shortness of breath which are common for both genders. These symptoms say, that both genders experience seizures and excessive sweating before the attack.

These symptoms are not so common, but if detected and treatment is provided, it could be life-saving.

Sudden cardiac arrests have a high fatality rate of 90%. Patients who identify the warning signs and ask for medical help are much more likely to be saved. The researchers wrote:

"Warning symptoms hold promise for prediction of imminent sudden cardiac arrest but might need to be augmented with additional features to maximize predictive power,"

This highlights the importance of the need for awareness among the individuals. Everyone should be aware of the symptoms and the warning signs. Having a good knowledge of these could be life-saving.

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The Way Ahead

Being aware of the symptoms can help detect the early signs of a cardiac attack (Image by senivpetro on Freepik)

The main researcher of the study, Dr. Summet Chugh said:

"Harnessing warning symptoms to perform effective triage for those who need to make a 911 call could lead to early intervention and prevention of imminent death. Our findings could lead to a new paradigm for prevention of sudden cardiac death."

With the identification of the symptoms, medical experts can act on the basis of the warning signs and provide a treatment that in turn reduces the chances of a heart attack.

This path-breaking research by the Smidt Heart Institute has opened up new hope to detect the early symptoms of cardiac arrest and treat it early accordingly.

This new-found knowledge can be life-saving and is a very important step towards the treatment of cardiac arrest. This research has been proof that medical research is on a good path in discovering the important aspects of heart health.