NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - In the months before a heart attack or episode of severe angina requiring emergency treatment, only a small percentage of people seek medical attention for precursor symptoms such as fatigue and shortness of breath, Canadian researchers report.

People should not ignore these non-specific symptoms because an office visit may improve chance of surviving, lead investigator Dr. Michelle M. Graham told Reuters Health.

Graham and colleagues at the University of Alberta, Edmonton examined data for all 14,230 patients in the province who sought emergency treatment for a heart attack or other "acute coronary syndrome" between 1999 and 2001.

Of this group, only 16 percent had seen a physician in the 90 days beforehand because of a premonitory symptom of heart trouble or "prodrome." Pain, anxiety and fatigue were the most common prodromes, and they made it more likely that a patient would be examined for cardiac problems before an acute coronary event occurred.

Prodromes were also associated with improved odds of surviving for at least one year for women, although not for men, the researchers report in the American Heart Journal.

Dr. Graham concluded, "The suggestion of improved survival may offer an opportunity to increase public education about the 'other' symptoms that can suggest the development of heart disease, and encourage people to see their health care providers."

SOURCE: American Heart Journal, December 2008.

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