Common Warning Signs That Often Go Unnoticed For Years Before A Heart Attack Uncovered

Fresh research has shown that people who eventually experience a heart attack usually display warning signs in at least one of four specific ways, sometimes years before the event happens.

When thinking about general wellbeing, most of us tend to focus on the basics such as sleep, nutrition, and exercise. These are important, but they are not the only markers of health that matter.

Experts now point out that other factors in everyday life can serve as signals too, and these may hint at the likelihood of developing serious health conditions like cardiovascular disease long before symptoms become severe.

A large-scale study led by Northwestern Medicine in the US and Yonsei University in South Korea found that nearly everyone who later experienced a heart attack, stroke, or heart failure had at least one elevated ‘risk factor’ before their condition developed.

The work, published in The Journal of the American College of Cardiology, looked at more than nine million adult health records in South Korea over a 10-year period, as well as records from nearly 7,000 adults in the United States.

Researchers say these findings challenge the long-standing idea that serious heart problems sometimes strike completely without warning, showing instead that clear signs are present in the vast majority of cases.

The researchers are confident in their findings Getty Stock Image

The main ‘risk factors’ that, when above safe levels, most often lead to a heart-related emergency include high blood pressure, elevated cholesterol, high blood sugar, or a current or past history of smoking.

Experts behind the study emphasized that these are areas people should pay closer attention to, since keeping them under control could significantly improve heart health and reduce long-term risks.

Senior author Dr. Philip Greenland, professor of cardiology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, explained: "We think the study shows very convincingly that exposure to one or more non-optimal risk factors before these cardiovascular outcomes is nearly 100 percent."

"The goal now is to work harder on finding ways to control these modifiable risk factors rather than to get off track in pursuing other factors that are not easily treatable and not causal."

The researchers also laid out exactly what would count as ‘non-optimal’ levels for these common health markers:

They also explained what would be optimal levels for these four risk factors Getty Stock Image

• Blood pressure at or above 120/80 mm Hg, or being on medication for it

• Total cholesterol at or above 200 mg/dL, or receiving treatment

• Fasting blood glucose at or above 100 mg/dL, being diagnosed with diabetes, or on diabetes treatment

• Current or past use of tobacco products

The study’s conclusions were described as strikingly clear by the team of researchers.

They found that over 99 percent of people who went on to experience a serious cardiovascular event had at least one of these non-optimal risk factors in place. On top of that, more than 93 percent of participants had two or more factors at the same time.

High blood pressure stood out as the most widespread issue. It was found in over 95 percent of patients studied in South Korea, and more than 93 percent of patients examined in the United States.