You may have heart problems and not know it.

Coronary heart disease — plaque buildup that narrows the arteries supplying blood to the heart — can cause chest pain and shortness of breath. However, it can also be “silent,” causing few or no symptoms, the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute notes.

For some people, the first sign of coronary artery disease is a heart attack, according to the Centers for Disease and Prevention .

But for others, their bodies will send clues beforehand that something is wrong, so it’s important to pay attention.

“A substantial minority of patients will have some symptoms that, had they paid attention to them or sought an outpatient evaluation, they might have had a different outcome,” Dr. Sharonne Hayes, a cardiologist at the Mayo Clinic, previously

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