Older people are more likely to have heart attacks without knowing it, and these 'silent' heart attacks tend to lead to worse health outcomes—probably because older adults feel less pain and have other health issues that hide the usual warning signs.

Older people having heart attacks often don’t feel the usual chest pain—instead, they might feel confused, weak, short of breath, or more tired than normal, which can make it harder for doctors to spot the problem quickly.

Some heart attacks don't feel like the usual chest pain — they're silent. And even when people have signs, they might ignore them because their mind doesn't want to believe something's wrong.