Heart attack is a serious medical event & requires emergency action. A heart attack occurs when blood flow to the heart is suddenly blocked, usually as a result of a blood clot or plaque inside blood vessels.
Lack of blood vessels leading to the heart can cause damage to the heart muscle tissue, which if not quickly treated can make the heart muscle tissue is damaged & dead. Medical terminology for heart attack is myocardial infarction.
The blood vessels that supply blood & oxygen to the heart called the coronary arteries. Therefore, a disease that causes hardening & narrowing of the coronary arteries is called coronary heart disease (CHD). Most heart attacks occur in people who have coronary heart disease (CHD).
Symptoms of heart attack
Not all heart attacks begin with sudden pain in the chest as seen in movies or television. In one study, for example, 1 / 3 of patients who had experienced a heart attack feels no pain in his chest, patients are usually elderly patients, or women who suffer from diabetes.
Signs & symptoms of a heart attack can also be different for each person. Many heart attacks are preceded by discomfort or pain is mild, there are even people who have no symptoms at all.
Here is a common symptom is felt during a heart attack:
1. Pain in chest
The most common symptom is felt during a heart attack is chest pain. This includes a new pain or perceived pain is often felt but with different patterns.
Most of the time heart attacks occur, the pain arises in the middle of the chest or on the left side of the chest that lasts for several minutes or disappear & reappear. The pain can feel like pressure, squeeze or chest pain, whether mild or severe.
Symptoms of angina can be similar to the symptoms of a heart attack. Angina is chest pain that occurs in people who have coronary heart disease, usually occurs when they are active activity. The pain of angina, may occur for a few minutes & will disappear when they are resting.
Chest pain that does not go away even after rest, can be a sign of a heart attack. We recommend that every heart attack is felt sent to the doctor.
2. Other symptoms are often felt in the moments before or during a heart attack are:
- Discomfort in your upper body, either in the arm (can be either one or both), back, neck, chin, or upper abdomen. Shortness of breath, can occur before or during chest pain arises. Nausea, vomiting, sudden dizziness & arise in a cold sweat.
- Difficulty sleeping, feeling extremely tired or lack energy.
Not everyone who had a heart attack will experience the same symptoms. But more and more of the above symptoms are felt, the greater the likelihood of experiencing a heart attack.
Life after suffering a heart attack
If you have previously suffered a heart attack, then it is arguably the heart has been damaged. This can affect the heart rhythm and the strength to pump & drain the blood.
People who have suffered a heart attack are also at risk for having another heart attack or other conditions such as stroke, kidney problems & peripheral vascular disease.
But there are some things you can do to reduce the risk of experiencing these health problems. For example, by cardiac rehabilitation, a program of health maintenance by way of lifestyle changes to improve heart health & quality of life.
Changes made include the use of drugs, dietary changes, increased physical activity, smoking cessation & stress management. The doctor will also give advice on daily activities are carried out, including setting work activities, travel, sexual activity or sport.
In order not to have a heart attack
There are several factors that can increase the risk for heart attack. Risk factors exist that we can control, but there also can not be controlled.
Risk factors that can not be controlled are:
1. Age
The risk for heart disease will have increased in men after age 45 years & in women after age 55 years (after menopause).
2. Family history
The risk for having heart disease will also increase when a father or brother had a history of men who have heart disease diagnosed before age 55 years or mother or sister who had heart disease diagnosed before age 65 years.
3. Pre-eclampsia
Developing pre-eclampsia also increases the risk for having heart disease. Pre-eclampsia is a condition that occurs during pregnancy, marked by the rise in blood pressure & presence of excess protein in urine. Pre-eclampsia is often associated with risk of various diseases of the heart, such as coronary heart disease, heart attack, heart failure & high blood pressure.
While the risk factors that can be controlled are: While the risk factors that can be controlled are:
- Smoke
- High blood pressure
- High cholesterol levels
- Overweight & obesity
- Unhealthy eating patterns (eg eating foods high in salt, fat & cholesterol) Lack of physical activity
- High levels of sugar in the blood due to diabetes
Ways to prevent heart disease & heart attacks is by controlling the above risk factors by:
1. Stop smoking
Smoking is a major cause of various diseases such as heart disease & lung cancer. So if this time includes one of the people who smoke, quitting smoking is the best way to avoid the occurrence of heart attacks.
2 Doing regular exercise
If you want to keep the heart healthy, then do regular exercise is very important to do. Exercise will improve blood flow and helps keep the heart to work effectively.
For those who do not have a history of heart disease, regular moderate exercise for 30 minutes a day at least 5 times a week is recommended. Examples of these sports is to walk fast or climb a hill.
3. Adjust your diet
To be heart healthy, low fat diet rich in fiber are encouraged, such as whole wheat or various kinds of vegetables & fruits. Limit your salt intake is also up to no more than 6 grams (1 teaspoon) a day. Consume too much salt will increase blood pressure.
Also avoid eating foods high in saturated fat content, because it can increase blood cholesterol levels. Foods that are high in saturated fat include are: meat, sausages, offal, butter, cream, cheese, cakes & biscuits and foods containing palm oil / palm oil.
To lower cholesterol, you should consume foods that contain unsaturated fats, such as fish oil, avocados, nuts, or sunflower oil from olives.
4. Limit alcohol consumption
Consuming alcohol in large quantities can cause blood pressure to rise, as well as cholesterol levels. Therefore, by not consuming alcohol or limit alcohol consumption according to the recommended is the appropriate way to reduce the risk of having high blood pressure or heart attack.
The number of recommended alcohol consumption limits are: in men 3-4 units / day, while the women 2-3 units / day. 1 unit of alcohol is equivalent to a small glass of wine / wine.
5. Losing weight
There are many benefits associated with weight loss. If it can achieve an ideal body weight according to height, it can help lower cholesterol & blood pressure. By losing weight, then the risk for heart disease will also decline and life expectancy will also increase.
One way is successful enough to lose weight is by exercising at least 30 minutes every day, eat smaller amounts of & eat healthy snacks between meals. Gradual weight loss of 0.5 kg / week is recommended.
6. Other conditions
Some other conditions that may increase the risk for heart attack is hypertension & diabetes. That is to keep these conditions are always controlled can also help reduce your risk of heart attack.
This includes, taking drugs that doctors routinely administered, a healthy diet & control to the doctor regularly.
Causes, Mechanisms, and Symptoms of Coronary Heart Disease (CHD)
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