In 2014, Marian Butts was hospitalized for fluid in her lungs. Right before being released, a cardiologist told her she had some heart damage from a previous heart attack. That was a shock to her and her family.
Years before, the Chesapeake, Virginia, resident, who has diabetes, had been treated for ongoing acid reflux and indigestion. That is one of the symptoms sometimes connected to a silent heart attack.
“We didn’t recognize it. We hadn’t even heard of a silent heart attack before,” said her daughter, Debra Brabson. Her mother hadn’t suffered from chest pain, shortness of breath or other more recognized signs of a heart attack.
