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Do People Who Have A Silent Heart Attack Always Have A Second Heart Attack?
Question: I'm wondering how long a person can live after having a silent heart attack. I've always been extremely healthy and take good care of myself. It was a shock to find out from an EKG that I had a H.A. What percentage of people who have a silent heart attack have a second heart attack if they take good care of themselves? Do people who have a silent heart attack ALWAYS have a second heart attack if they take good care of themselves? I know it depends on the heart damage, & I won't find that out for two more weeks when I see a cardiologist. Thank you.
Brief Answer:
Your ECG is required...
Detailed Answer:
Hi back,
First, I need to have the ECG to rule out myocardial infarction.
If the infarct is silent and not symptom for heart failure, this is a good news, indicating no possible damage to heart muscle.
With regards to other questions, I need to have a look at your ECG first to give appropriate answer.
Dr.Benard
Your ECG is required...
Detailed Answer:
Hi back,
First, I need to have the ECG to rule out myocardial infarction.
If the infarct is silent and not symptom for heart failure, this is a good news, indicating no possible damage to heart muscle.
With regards to other questions, I need to have a look at your ECG first to give appropriate answer.
Dr.Benard
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
I'm sorry, I don't have a scanner to send you the EKG. It says: Rate:63 Sinus Rhythm, PR:170 Septal Myocardial Infarction, probably old, QRSD:94 Abnormal ECG, QT:393, QTc:401. AXIS: P:71, QRS:64, T:47. I was so upset I was able to see my Dr. this a.m. even though he is booked for 3 wks. Knowing my complete health history he said he's not sure he believes this report. I'm having a stress test on Thurs. I told my him of an episode in XXXXXXX 2013 (a Sat.) when his office was closed. I was dizzy, weak, BP was 80/50, felt terrible. An on-call Dr. advised me over the phone. He asked me several questions & finally determined I was dehydrated (however, my urine was not dark). He had me drink water over the course of an hour, & said to let him know if my BP didn't go up. Well, it went up a bit (I run on the low side anyway), so I never called him back. I rested for the rest of the day & the next day I felt fine. My Dr. isn't convinced this was a heart attack. I'm 5'6, 126lbs, exercise regularly (have no adverse symptoms indicating heart problems), eat well, & my HDL is 71, LDL-C is 127, LDL(SLDL) is 121, but my doc isn't concerned about the LDLs because my HDL is so good. No health issues, no family history, all the women in my family lived well into their 80s and 90s. My questions are:
1) Are ECGs wrong very often? (I know placement of leads is important,
machines can be off, etc.)
2) Does my dizzy/weak event in XXXXXXX 2013 sound ominous to you?
3) How common is it for a person with no risk factors (except age, in my case)
to have a heart attack?
4) If the ECG is correct, can you tell me anything about this heart attack from
the limited info from the ECG?
I will add that I will be seeing a cardiologist on XXXXXXX 9. In the meantime, I would greatly appreciate your input. Thank you, Dr.!
1) Are ECGs wrong very often? (I know placement of leads is important,
machines can be off, etc.)
2) Does my dizzy/weak event in XXXXXXX 2013 sound ominous to you?
3) How common is it for a person with no risk factors (except age, in my case)
to have a heart attack?
4) If the ECG is correct, can you tell me anything about this heart attack from
the limited info from the ECG?
I will add that I will be seeing a cardiologist on XXXXXXX 9. In the meantime, I would greatly appreciate your input. Thank you, Dr.!
Brief Answer:
Following answers to your queries...
Detailed Answer:
Hi back,
Thank you for following up.
Let me answer your questions from the last one:
4) From the ECG data you have sent in, there is little chance for silent myocardial infarction to my opinion. However, should wait for other confirmatory tests: stress test, cardiac echo and angiography before going for the final conclusions.
3) A healthy person with no risk factors does have almost zero chances to get a heart attack.
2) It is normal for bp to get increased when large amount of water is consumed. Again, need to see the ECG myself before saying that there is a connection with heart event.
1) If placement of leads is done correctly, there is no problem with ECG reading. Sometimes, when patients move abruptly, such changes are being reported at ECG. As the ECG analyzer is a machine, sometimes its analysis is done wrongly. That's why cardiologists do have a look at ECG themselves before giving final conclusions.
Once again, please wait until the results of the confirmatory tests. You can ask for a soft copy and send it to me for a second opinion.
Dr.Benard
Following answers to your queries...
Detailed Answer:
Hi back,
Thank you for following up.
Let me answer your questions from the last one:
4) From the ECG data you have sent in, there is little chance for silent myocardial infarction to my opinion. However, should wait for other confirmatory tests: stress test, cardiac echo and angiography before going for the final conclusions.
3) A healthy person with no risk factors does have almost zero chances to get a heart attack.
2) It is normal for bp to get increased when large amount of water is consumed. Again, need to see the ECG myself before saying that there is a connection with heart event.
1) If placement of leads is done correctly, there is no problem with ECG reading. Sometimes, when patients move abruptly, such changes are being reported at ECG. As the ECG analyzer is a machine, sometimes its analysis is done wrongly. That's why cardiologists do have a look at ECG themselves before giving final conclusions.
Once again, please wait until the results of the confirmatory tests. You can ask for a soft copy and send it to me for a second opinion.
Dr.Benard
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Thank you, Dr. Shehu, for your reply. It has given me encouragement, & for that I am grateful. However, today I had another ECG, & there was not much change. I was able to scan my first ECG into my computer, and I just uploaded that now. If there's a problem with you getting it, let me know & I'll try again.
1) If not a myocardial infarction, possibly a virus or ???
2) Again, does my dizzy/weak event in XXXXXXX 2013 sound ominous to you?
3) If I do have heart damage, can you speculate that I might have a fairly
normal life as I continue to exercise and eat healthy?
PS: Hopefully you got my ECG & prior message with questions. Just wanted to report that I passed my nuclear ECG stress test this morning with flying colors ~ the doctor was really impressed! All I'm waiting on now are the results of the heart imaging. Please let me know your comments. Thank you so much.
Thank you, God bless you.
1) If not a myocardial infarction, possibly a virus or ???
2) Again, does my dizzy/weak event in XXXXXXX 2013 sound ominous to you?
3) If I do have heart damage, can you speculate that I might have a fairly
normal life as I continue to exercise and eat healthy?
PS: Hopefully you got my ECG & prior message with questions. Just wanted to report that I passed my nuclear ECG stress test this morning with flying colors ~ the doctor was really impressed! All I'm waiting on now are the results of the heart imaging. Please let me know your comments. Thank you so much.
Thank you, God bless you.
Brief Answer:
Kindly attach the results in following address....
Detailed Answer:
Hi back,
Thank you for your updates. Actually, I was waiting for the ECG or nuclear test reports as without these reports I cannot give an appropriate answer. For the time being, no ECG or other test reports was in. Can you please send at the following e-mail address:
YYYY@YYYY
with subject line: "Attention to Dr.Benard Shehu".
Regarding your earlier questions, my answers are as following:
1) If findings of ECG were not signicative for myocardial infarction, then, virus can be suspected. However, good physical examination and look at the ECG my self are necessary for final conclusions.
2) I do not see the event of XXXXXXX as ominous, as you are reporting to be conducting a healthy lifestyle and following healthy diet regimen. However, I still insist to get further diagnostic tests and evaluations for final conclusions.
3) The level of damage of your heart is prescribed based on the lab reports. However, to my opinion, as you are conducting a healthy lifestyle, there are less chances to get your heart damaged. Unless, severe viral or bacterial infections occurred and caused the damages. Once again, ECG, stress test and nuclear studies results are needed for the analysis.
Looking forward to have your results attached in the above-mentioned e-mail.
Thank you!
Dr.Benard
Kindly attach the results in following address....
Detailed Answer:
Hi back,
Thank you for your updates. Actually, I was waiting for the ECG or nuclear test reports as without these reports I cannot give an appropriate answer. For the time being, no ECG or other test reports was in. Can you please send at the following e-mail address:
YYYY@YYYY
with subject line: "Attention to Dr.Benard Shehu".
Regarding your earlier questions, my answers are as following:
1) If findings of ECG were not signicative for myocardial infarction, then, virus can be suspected. However, good physical examination and look at the ECG my self are necessary for final conclusions.
2) I do not see the event of XXXXXXX as ominous, as you are reporting to be conducting a healthy lifestyle and following healthy diet regimen. However, I still insist to get further diagnostic tests and evaluations for final conclusions.
3) The level of damage of your heart is prescribed based on the lab reports. However, to my opinion, as you are conducting a healthy lifestyle, there are less chances to get your heart damaged. Unless, severe viral or bacterial infections occurred and caused the damages. Once again, ECG, stress test and nuclear studies results are needed for the analysis.
Looking forward to have your results attached in the above-mentioned e-mail.
Thank you!
Dr.Benard
Note: For further queries related to coronary artery disease and prevention, click here.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
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