Beware of the "silent" heart attack
According the
American Heart Association, people with diabetes are more likely to have heart attacks early in life and these often end in death.
"This may be because people with diabetes don't always display typical heart attack symptoms," states
Jeffrey Leavy, MD, Virtua Health cardiologist. "High blood glucose levels can damage nerves in the heart and make it difficult to feel the pain of a heart attack. Therefore, they may feel atypical symptoms like indigestion, shoulder or back pain, or shortness of breath."
For that reason, it's especially important for people with diabetes to know all the signs and symptoms of a heart attack so they can seek immediate medical care and reduce the risk of heart damage.
Symptoms include:
- Uncomfortable pressure, fullness, squeezing or pain in the center of the chest lasting more than a few minutes.
- Mild to intense pain spreading to the shoulders, neck or arms: It may feel like pressure, tightness, burning or heavy weight. It may be located in the chest, upper abdomen, neck, jaw or inside the arms or shoulders.
- Chest discomfort with lightheadedness, fainting, sweating, nausea or shortness of breath.
- Anxiety, nervousness and/or cold, sweaty skin.
- Pale skin.
- Increased or irregular heart rate.
- Feeling of impending doom.