Dr. Dean Ornish answered: There is an emerging field of research
in cardiology called silent ischemia. Ischemia ("is- kee-mee-
ah") is medical j argon for reduced blood flow to the heart.
Cardiologists used to believe that chest pain (angina) occurred
whenever the heart did not receive enough blood flow. Recent
studies have conclusively demonstrated that many people have
profound reductions in blood flow to their hearts, yet they
don't have any chest pain or other symptoms. Sometimes people
even have heart attacks without any symptoms at all. During the
past few years, this syndrome has been well documented, although
it is unclear why some people experience chest pain whereas
others do not. Recent studies have demonstrated that people with
silent ischemia tend to experience all forms of pain (and
pleasure) less intensely than other people, even though their
nervous system and levels of naturally produced painkillers
(endorphins) are no different. For example, a recent study in
the Journal of the American Colle