Beyond the Chest Pain: Understanding Atypical Heart Attack Symptoms and Prevention

Heart attacks, most often caused by underlying heart disease, are common in the United States, but some of the signs can be misleading.

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Each year in the United States, about 805,000 people experience heart attacks, typically preceded by heart disease. On average, someone has a heart attack every 40 seconds. But it’s not always clear when a heart attack is happening.

In this article, we will delve into the atypical symptoms of heart disease and heart attacks that are often overlooked. We will also explore heart disease risk factors and effective strategies for preventing and reducing the risk of heart disease and subsequent heart attacks.

Primary Causes of Heart Attacks

Generally speaking, the primary cause of a heart attack is ischemia of the coronary arteries, known as coronary heart disease. This condition results from damage to blood vessel walls caused by factors such as high blood pressure, high blood sugar, and chronic inflammation. This damage leads to the accumulation of substances like cholesterol and platelets on the inner walls of the vessels, forming plaques that block or narrow the coronary arteries. Consequently, there is an insufficient oxygen supply to the heart muscle, ultimately triggering a heart attack. In the United States, coronary heart disease is the most common type of heart disease, accounting for over 370,000 deaths in 2022.