A Brief Guide to a Healthy Heart
A myocardial infarction (MI), more commonly called a heart attack, occurs when blood flow in the coronary arteries of the heart is reduced or blocked, damaging the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort that can spread to the shoulders, arms, back, neck, or jaw. It often occurs in the middle or left side of the chest and lasts a few minutes or longer. Symptoms may feel like heartburn. Other symptoms include shortness of breath, nausea, fainting, and chills. It may be accompanied by sweating and fatigue. Myocardial infarction (MI) can lead to heart failure, arrhythmia, cardiogenic shock, or cardiac arrest.
Signs and symptoms:
Heart attacks are severe conditions that can have life-threatening consequences if left untreated. Learning the symptoms of a heart attack can help you identify a heart attack in the early stages. Heart attack symptoms vary, so it is essential to learn how to recognize them. What are the signs of a heart attack? In this article, we will cover some of the most common symptoms of a heart attack.
Common symptoms of a heart attack include:
Chest pain that may feel like pressure’ tightness, aching chest pain, or discomfort that radiates to the shoulders, arms, back, neck, jaw, teeth, or sometimes the upper abdomen other serious symptoms can be
● Cold sweat
● Malaise
● Heartburn or indigestion
● Lightheadedness or sudden dizziness
● Nausea
● Difficulty in breathing
Women may experience typical symptoms such as short or stabbing pains in the neck, arms, or back. Sudden cardiac arrest may be the first symptom of a heart attack.
Some heart attacks occur suddenly. However, many people are experiencing signs and symptoms for hours, days, and even weeks. Chest pain or tightness in the chest (angina) that does not go away with rest may be an early warning sign. Angina Pectoris is caused by a temporary reduction in blood flow to the heart.
Causes:
Coronary artery disease is the most common cause of heart attack. In coronary artery disease, one or more of the heart’s arteries (coronary arteries) are blocked. This is usually due to cholesterol-rich deposits called plaque. Plaque can narrow arteries and reduce blood flow to the heart. When plaque breaks down, blood clots form in the heart.
A heart attack can be caused by a complete or partial blockage of the arteries of the heart (coronary arteries). One way to classify a heart attack is whether an electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG) shows specific changes (ST elevation) that require invasive emergency treatment. Doctors can use ECG results to explain this type of heart attack.
Acute total occlusion of the heart or aorta usually means that ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) has occurred.
Partial block often means that there has been a non-ST elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI). However, some of his NSTEMI patients develop total obstruction.
Not all heart attacks are caused by blocked arteries. Other reasons are:
Coronary Spasm: This is severe compression of unblocked blood vessels. Arteries usually contain plaques of cholesterol or premature hardening of blood vessels due to smoking or other risk factors. Other names for coronary spasm are Prinzmetal angina, vasospastic angina, or atypical angina.
Certain Infections: Virals like Covid 19 which we came to encounter back then in 2020 and are still encountering it and other viral infections may cause damage to the heart muscle.
Risk Factors:
Men over the age of 45 and women over the age of 55 are more likely to have a heart attack than younger men and women.
● Use of tobacco: These include smoking and long-term exposure to secondhand smoke. If you smoke, quit. Hypertension. Over time, high blood pressure can damage the arteries that lead to your heart.
● High Blood Pressure: Which occurs with other conditions such as obesity, high cholesterol, and diabetes, further increases the risk.
● High cholesterol or Triglycerides: High levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol (“bad” cholesterol) are most likely to narrow your arteries.
● High levels of certain blood fats called triglycerides also increase the risk of a heart attack. If your high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol (“good” cholesterol) levels are within the normal range, your risk of a heart attack may decrease.
● Obesity: Obesity is associated with high blood pressure, diabetes, high levels of triglycerides and bad cholesterol, and low levels of good cholesterol.
● Diabetes: When the body cannot correctly produce or use a hormone called insulin, blood sugar levels rise. High blood sugar increases the risk of a heart attack. metabolic syndrome. This is a combination of at least three of the following: enlarged waist (central obesity), high blood pressure, low good cholesterol, high triglycerides, and high blood sugar.
● Use of illegal drugs: Cocaine and amphetamines are stimulants. They can cause spasms in the coronary arteries that can lead to heart attacks. History of preeclampsia. This condition causes high blood pressure during pregnancy. Increases lifetime risk of heart disease. It’s an autoimmune disease. Conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis and lupus can increase the risk of a heart attack.
Prevention:
It’s never too late to take action to prevent a heart attack — even if you’ve already had one. Here’s how to prevent a heart attack.
● Follow a healthy lifestyle: Do not smoke; Maintain a healthy weight with a heart-healthy diet. Exercise regularly and manage your stress.
● Manage other health conditions: Certain medical conditions, such as high blood pressure and diabetes, can increase your risk of a heart attack. Ask your doctor how often you should be tested.
● Take your medicine as directed: Doctors can prescribe medications to protect and improve heart health.
● Heart Attack Nutrition: The Best and Worst Foods To Eat After A Heart Attack.
● Heart attacks: Whether they be mild, moderate, or severe, can be dangerous events. The best way to deal with the aftermath of a heart attack is to eat the right foods. But what foods should you avoid after a heart attack? What foods should you eat? This article will give you the answers that you need.
Heart attacks, whether they are mild, moderate, or severe, can be dangerous events. The best way to deal with the aftermath of a heart attack is to eat the right foods. But what foods should you avoid after a heart attack? What foods should you eat? This article will give you the answers that you need. If you have had a heart attack, you should avoid fatty foods and foods with sodium.
● Foods with a high amount of sugar.
● Foods that are high in fat, salt, and sugar.
● You should also avoid alcoholic beverages.
● Foods with nitrates and nitrites in them.
● Foods with a high amount of Transfats.
● Foods that are fried.
● Foods with a lot of sugar.
● Foods that are processed.
● Foods with a lot of artificial colors, flavors, and preservatives.
● Foods with a lot of caffeine.
Prognosis:
The extent and location of the heart muscle that has been damaged, as well as the emergence and treatment of complications, all have a significant role in the prognosis following myocardial infarction. Older age and social isolation had a worse prognosis. A worse prognosis is linked to anterior infarcts, persistent ventricular tachycardia or fibrillation, the development of heart blocks, and left ventricular dysfunction. Without therapy, roughly 25% of MI patients pass away within minutes and 40% do so within the first month. However, myocardial infarction morbidity and mortality have decreased over time due to earlier and better treatment.