8 of 10 people unaware of many signs of heart attack – Study
KS Diwan/ royalpatiala.in/ Patiala
A study by cardiologist may explain why heart attack continues to be the biggest killer, claiming a million Indian lives annually. The study finds that, among many symptoms, only chest pain & discomfort was linked with heart attack by 78% of people; meaning missing out on other early warning signs.
The study finds were released by Punjab Rattan Honorary Dr Rajneesh Kapoor, working as Senior Director- Interventional Cardiology at Medanta, during a medical education program being held GMC- Patiala. The program was inaugurated byHealth Minister of Punjab Brahm Mohindra.
“Heart attack happens when heart gets deprived of its blood supply because of choking of arteries that supply blood to heart. The body comes to know about this through symptoms that majorly are chest pain, rotating pain in other parts of body, dizziness, sweating, shortness of breath, nausea, vomiting, anxiety and coughing.” Dr Kapoor informed.
He told “In the survey 360 people, aged in between 30-59 years, men & women were enrolled. They were asked to feed their knowledge on signs of heart attack through multiple choice questionnaire. The study population comprised individuals with no history of heart attack.”
“8 out of 10 people in the survey knew of heart attack only if there was a chest pain or discomfort.”
Dr Rajneesh Kapoor tells that the finding of the survey is “concerning.”
He tells that the key for survival following heart attack rest upon timely treatment. Since heart attack does not manifests only with chest pain, people unaware of other signs of heart attack could face high risk of death following a heart attack.
The survey found unawareness on signs of heart attack was found to be more in rural population (66% rural vs 34% urban). A study published in the journal Lancet reports that rate of mortality rate from coronary heart disease increased by 40% in rural men and 56% in rural women whereas it decreased in urban areas.
Adding further he tells that “The treatment of heart attacks is one of the success stories of modern medicine but this paper is an important reminder that there are still areas where we can improve care.
“While many heart attacks present with classical pain in the chest in people who smoke and have other risk factors for heart disease, many heart attacks don’t present this way and in people not obviously at high risk.
“The challenge is to accurately and speedily diagnose all these patients so that they can be offered best care. Education of the public, of GPs, paramedics and Emergency Department doctors is essential if we are to improve even further the care, we offer to patients having a heart attack.”
