Heart Attack

How to Deal with Heart Attack

Your cardiovascular muscle tissue requires oxygen to survive. A heart attack happens when the flow of blood that provides oxygen to your heart muscle is significantly lowered or shut down completely. This occurs due to the fact coronary arterial blood vessels that provide the heart with blood may gradually turn into thicker and harder from a build-up of excess fat, cholesterol and some other compounds that together are named plaque. This slower process is generally known as atherosclerosis. Any time a plaque in a coronary heart artery breaks, a blood clot forms all over the plaque. This kind of blood clot can easily obstruct the artery and

shut down blood circulation to the cardiovascular muscle. When the cardiovascular muscle is starved for nutrients and oxygen, it's known as ischemia. When harm or demise of section of the cardiovascular muscle happens due to ischemia, it is known as a myocardial infarction or heart attack.

A individual that is getting a heart attack in most cases can feel the ache in their chest muscles first. This ache then develops to the arms, jaw, neck, ears, and wrists. With several sufferers, the ache also can make its way directly into the shoulder blades, and the stomach.

The quicker the myocardial infarction sufferer can be treated, the more effective their treatment method will be. Nowadays, the vast majority of heart attacks can be handled successfully. It is important to keep in mind

that the success relies largely on exactly how quickly he / she can be taken to medical center. Negligence can lead to substantial harm to the cardiovascular muscle or perhaps loss of life is possible. Immediate clinical treatment can assist save the life or can easily reduce the harm to the heart. Diabetic sufferers, some of those identified with heart problems, higher cholesterol and hypertension, people who smoke cigarettes or drink heavily, individuals that follow a very stressful life-style and overweight are much more likely to have a myocardial infarction.


A myocardial infarction is not just a one time, one-moment incident. It is a process that increases around a period of a several hours. With each and every moment that goes by, much less oxygen is getting the associated with heart muscle and the chance of permanent harm is increasing. Therefore, somebody's possibility of surviving a myocardial infarction will depend on the treatment solution that is provided around the first hour of the myocardial infarction. The great majority (about 90%) of heart attack sufferers who reach the medical center alive survive the occasion.

For individuals, who may have previously had a heart attack, are suggested to carry out their recommended course of treatment religiously, and also some modifications in their life-style. These could be regular workouts, shunning cigarette smoking, having a heart-healthy diet plan, and controlling stress.

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Understanding Heart Attack Treatment

Heart attack is responsible for causes of death in many all over the world as shown by statistics from World Health Organization (WHO). Daily, cases of heart attack are given treatment in emergency rooms of hospitals as the staff desperately revive the patient experiencing shortness of breath and chest pain. Nonetheless,there are a lot of heart attack treatment administered by doctors after a heart attack. However the heart attack treatment given also relies on the symptoms as well as some medical history of the patient. The following guidelines illustrate some approach to heart attack treatment.

Heart attack treatment as an emergency. This is the most fatal situation when a person has sudden heart attack characterized by squeezing chest pain, dizziness, and difficulty in breathing. Normally, the patient is rushed to the nearest health clinic or hospital especially when the heart has stopped pumping blood. Just a delay for a few minutes can result to stroke or even death. The first heart attack treatment done is using a defibrillator to shock the heart so it would return to its normal rhythm. Once the heart has been stabilized, certain medications are given to correct whatever damage has been done. Epinephrine is a common medication given for cardio cerebral resuscitation along with CPR. Sometimes, aspirin is taken by the patient as well as nitroglycerin to control blood pressure which affects the patient. The earlier heart attack treatment is given at the very start of the attack, less damage can happen to vital organs.

Diagnostic tests and procedures are also vital elements of heart attack treatment. Such procedures clearly identify the cause of the heart attack since there are many possible root causes of the episode. Some non-invasive procedures often undertaken by heart attack victims are Electrocardiography, Chest X-ray, Echocardiography and Treadmill stress test. The doctor can derive a good diagnosis from the results of these procedures. It's most likely too that invasive heart attack treatment be advised by the doctor especially if the situation is calls for removing blood clots. These tests include blood tests, cardiac cathetherization, Transesophageal Electrocardiography ( TEE), Thallium Stress Test, and Electrophysiologic tests according to the American Heart Association. In some cases, surgery is the best approach to save the life of the patient.

Heart attack treatment applied at the soonest time possible saves lives.

The Importance of Heart Attack Statistics

As many people experience many form of stressor from daily living, the incidence of heart attack increases. Usually, stress is normal and even healthy for people so they can be challenged and live normally. Unfortunately, once stress surpass the levels that a human being can deal with, certain health conditions like cardiovascular diseases can develop too. Heart attack statistics from many countries illustrates the fact that heart attack is one of the leading cause of death worldwide.

One of the most credible source of information for heart attack statistics is World Health Organization. According to their 2002 report, 49 % of heart attack was mainly triggered by high blood pressure. Hypertension is caused by unhealthy diet choices like fatty food which results to obesity. Those who have elevated blood pressure mostly lack physical activity. Once blood pressure shoots up, chest pain and shortness of breath would be felt that can lead to heart attack. Most of the time, emotional stress caused by too much anxiety can contribute to hypertension. Thus, heart attack statistics tells us indirectly to keep our blood pressure at normal levels by having a healthy lifestyle.

On top of that, other metabolic disorders like diabetes are commonly associated with heart problems. In the heart attack statistics reported by Australia’s health in 2004, 3.3% of adults who suffer from diabetes and sought medical services had a heart attack. Diabetes.org states that 2 out of 3 people afflicted with diabetes often die from heart attack or stroke. Thus, heart attack statistics are important since they not only provide us the incidence of heart problems but also state other ailments related to it.

Another very important information about heart attack statistics is that it points out the relationship of bad habits like smoking and likelihood of heart disease. The World Federation Fact Sheet 2002 states that Myocardial Infarction, or typically known as heart attack is more likely to cause death 4 times higher to most heavy smokers. For this reason, doctors usually advise their patients who have heart conditions to stop smoking as soon as possible since their arteries are already damaged.

Heart attack statistics aren't only figures but helpful data that educates us which can even prolong our lives.

Learn about Heart Attack Symptoms and Save Lives

Each and every day,millions of people around the world are rushed into the hospital or clinic because of one serious culprit- heart attack. A person who seems normal and even active like the case of a young Indian corporate executive experiences an excruciating chest pain and shortness of breath. In a matter of hours, the man dies from that first and single episode of heart attack that can be very scary to know. Indeed, heart attack does not respect age, creed, gender or even social status as it is regarded as the leading cause of mortality in western countries like the United States.

It is therefore very crucial to detect early heart attack symptoms that would most likely save your life or the life of your loved ones. Even so, understanding the main cause of heart attack and how it happens would benefit anyone.

When the blood flow going to the heart is blocked thereby preventing adequate supply of blood to the heart, heart attack happens. The blood flow cannot go on normally due to the plaque build-up around the walls of the coronary arteries and this is serious since its responsible for bringing blood to the organ. Actually, this condition develops gradually over the years brought about by fatty diet and sedentary lifestyle. The blood delivers oxygen to the heart and having a less than normal amount of supply could have serious ramifications like morbidity. Thus, knowing heart attack symptoms at the initial stage is really a lifesaver so to speak of.

The most common symptoms of a heart attack are exhibited by the following:

Crushing chest pain It may begin as a simple feeling of heartburn and progress to uncomfortable pressure as if an elephant is sitting on your chest. In some cases, the pain may be mild but no matter what intensity, it is surely uncomfortable and recurring. The person can also be confused,clumsy, dizzy or feel light-headed. For most people experiencing a heart attack, they feel cold and sweat and find it hard to breathe. These initial heart attack symptoms is a signal for a medical emergency.

Pain that's felt in other parts of the body. Pain can also spread to the arms, back, jaw and shoulders aside from the usual chest pain. The person has begins to have a panic attack so pay attention to heart attack symptoms.

In case any of heart attack symptoms are detected, call the doctor or better yet, rush the person to the nearest medical center.

Know More About Heart Attack Symptoms in Women

For obvious reasons, women have a different biological make-up than men so the way their system reacts to certain illness are also different. Take the case of heart attack, millions of women worldwide also suffer from myocardial infarction ( MI) or heart attack. However, the heart attack symptoms in women are manifested differently as studies reveal. In a way, this is plausible since women react to stress differently as compared to men. Stress is considered as a risk factor in heart attack aside from age, gender and heredity. Heart attack symptoms in women may also be more felt differently since according to the research by the National Institutes of Health (NIH ), women have a feeling of foreboding even months before the heart attack.

The findings of the study titled “ Women’s Early Warning Symptoms of Acute Myocardial Infarction” was published in 2003 by the Circulation journal of the American Heart Association. It is a groundbreaking research since it focused on the heart attack symptoms in women which provided the medical profession with valuable insights. Findings in the study can be used by cardiologists to advise their female patients to be more aware of heart attack symptoms in women.

Heart attack symptoms in women, according to the study, usually starts like an indigestion and weakness in the arms is felt that seems normal but actually indicates a heart attack. At least,a lot of women can be warned about such signals that may prompt them to consult a doctor especially if they haven’t seen one before. The study also showed that heart attack symptoms in women commonly felt way before were: sleep disturbance, difficulty in breathing and always feeling exhausted most of the time. In fact, chest pain was not really a major indication among heart attack symptoms in women.Unlike in the case of men where the start of a heart attack can be very sudden, heart attack symptoms in women show that they have more chances of preventing the incident.

Heart attack symptoms in women are helpful since they act as warning signs about one’s health status. As soon as any of these symptoms are felt by by your spouse, daughter, parent or any loved one, advise her to seek medical treatment immediately.

Heart Attack Risks Classification

In most cases, majority of people all over the world would prefer to die from old age and not from any disease as much as possible. Death caused by any disease particularly chronic or terminal ones are not only painful but costly too. However, it seems that modern man has to deal also with stress caused by work or environmental pollution as well as unhealthy lifestyle. Modern man is always in a rush and often choose instant stuff that goes against wellness. Heart attack risks are commonplace because people neglect to choose healthy habits that can prolong his life. The good thing is, latest developments in scientific research provides health organizations such as WHO and the American Heart Association (AHA) with relevant information regarding heart attack risks. According to AHA ,there are many heart attacks risks factors that people should familiarize themselves with. The following guidelines provide an overview of types of heart attack risks:

Major Heart Attack risks. There are some heart attack risks that have been established based on the following categories: Aging, Gender, and Heredity. Ordinarily, as people age the body becomes weak as well as their organs. Gender is considered a factor too since it has been determined by WHO that men are more prone to heart attacks than women. Lastly, race is one of the major heart attack risks factor. Certain groups of people like African Americans have higher incidence of heart attacks than Caucasians.

Controllable Heart Attack risks. As compared to major heart attack risks, there are certain heart attack risks that people can control by modifying their lifestyle and adopting healthy habits. One example,people can quit smoking since this increases the case of heart attack four times more for heavy smokers according to WHO. One more factor that people can control is blood cholesterol. People who regularly have a fatty diet jeopardize their health by increasing their blood cholesterol. In connection with this, it is also vital to exercise in order to shed some pounds. Shedding pounds also equates to lower blood pressure and blood sugar. In short, one good health habit leads to another benefit.

Certainly, several heart attack risks are given but a lot of them can be managed by having discipline. The only difference is spelled by the ability to change lifestyle for good.

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