The National Institutes of Health (NIH) September 18, 2012
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is more effective than
electrocardiography (ECG) at identifying "silent" heart attacks,
also known as unrecognized myocardial infarctions, according to
a study performed by National Institutes of Health researchers
and international colleagues. Overall, the study found that
silent heart attacks are more frequent than previous studies
have reported, particularly in certain populations such as older
adults with diabetes. Silent heart attacks appear to be much
more common than those with recognized symptoms. "Prevalence and
Prognosis of Unrecognized Myocardial Infarction Determined by
Cardiac Magnetic Resonance in Older Adults" was published Sept.
5 in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The study
involved 936 participants aged 67 to 93 years, enrolled in the
Age Gene/Environment Susceptibility-Reykjavik Study (AGES). Of
the participants, 670 were randomly selected and 266 were
selected because they were know