Nov. 19 (UPI) -- New research presented at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2013 shows that most people ignore the early signs of a heart attack, which can manifest nearly a month before the incident.
The research is a part of the 11-year-old Oregon Sudden Unexpected Death Study, which involved 1 million people in the Portland metro area.
The study looked at middle-age men and found that nearly half had signs up to a month before their hearts stopped abruptly.
According to the American Heart Association 360,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests are reported each year and only 9.5 percent of victims survive.
“By the time rescuers get there, it’s much too late,” said Eloi Marijon, lead author of the study.
The research looked at 567 men aged 35 to 65 who had had out-of-hospital cardiac arrests, and found 56 percent complained of chest pain, 13 percent had shortness of breath and 4 percent had dizziness, fainting or palpitations. 80 percent of these symptoms manifested between four weeks and an hour before the attacks.
“The lesson is, if you have these kinds of symptoms, please don’t blow them off,” said Sumeet Chugh, M.D., senior author and associate director for genomic cardiology at the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute.
The research is being expanded to women.
