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In some alarming new research done at the Wake Forest School of Medicine, nearly half of heart attacks are of the silent variety, which means that people don’t even know that they’re having them. That might seem okay except for the fact that heart attacks can leave behind serious damage.

To do this study the researchers looked at data that already exists out there. Essentially they tallied up the numbers of reported heart attacks at the time that they occured, and compared this to the number of silent heart attacks that were confirmed only after the fact by the use of an EKG sometimes years later. The researchers found that 45 percent of all heart attacks were silent, which is obviously a huge amount.

The problem with silent heart attacks, is that they still cause plenty of problems. People who have a history of having silent heart attacks are 34 more likely to die early for any reason, whether that reason was another heart attack or not.

The reason for this is that every time sometime has a heart attack it weakens the heart muscles, and without the proper rest and treatment following a heart attack they won’t return to full strength and are at an increased risk of experiencing another issue.

Heart attacks aren’t generally a young persons concern, but by the age of 40 it’s suggested to get a general EKG just to make sure that everything is functioning correctly, and to see if there is any damage that has already taken place. But that’s for a generally healthy person, if there are any risk factors present then 35 is a good age to start. Risk factors might include unhealthy lifestyle choices as well as a family history of the things taking place.

Anyone can make some effort to help prevent heart attacks by taking care of themselves which is one reason why a healthy diet and regular exercise is so important. Quitting smoking is another very crucial aspect of all around health.

Smoking cigarettes damages the lining of the arteries, which can lead to a fatty buildup in the area. That buildup narrows the size of the artery, which can very easily lead to a heart attack or stroke. It’s not that complicated, when the blood and oxygen cannot flow freely in the body it causes serious issues pretty quickly.

As far as diet and exercise, it can’t be said enough. Diets that are high in saturated and trans fats can cause buildups in the arteries as well from all the cholesterol that is being consumed. Added to that, a diet high in foods like sugar, salt, and fat can lead to weight gain and increase the blood pressure, both of which contribute as risk factors to heart attacks as well.

Besides getting check ups when it’s appropriate, eating right and taking care of your body is crucial to keeping that heart strong.

Tags: Health, heart attacks, heart health