Heart Attack and The Facts

A heart attack is a frightening event, and you probably don't want to think about it. But, if you learn the signs of a heart attack and what steps to take, you can save a life–maybe your own.

We all think that heart attack is sudden intense, where a person clutches his or her chest and falls over. But the truth is heart attack starts slowly, as a mild pain or discomfort. If you feel such a symptom, you may not be sure what's wrong. Your symptoms may even come and go. Even those who have had a heart attack may not recognize their symptoms, because the next attack can have entirely different ones.

Medical experts say the body likely will send one or more of these warning signals of a heart attack it could be like..

Uncomfortable pressure, fullness, squeezing or pain in the center of the chest lasting more than a few minutes.

Pain spreading to the shoulders, neck or arms. The pain may be mild to intense. It may feel like pressure, tightness, burning, or heavy weight. It may be located in the chest, upper abdomen, neck, jaw, or inside the arms or shoulders.

• Chest discomfort with light headedness, fainting, sweating, nausea or shortness of breath.
• Anxiety, nervousness and/or cold, sweaty skin.
• Paleness or pallor.
• Increased or irregular heart rate.
• Feeling of impending doom.
• There is no rule that those all symptoms should occur in every attack. But If you notice one or more of these signs in yourself or others consult your immediately.

Causes of Heart Attack

Age

this is considered to be the largest risk factor. When a man is over 45 years, and the woman is over 55 years of age, their risk of having a heart attack starts to rise significantly.

Angina

Angina is an illness where not enough oxygen is reaching the patient's heart. This raises the risk of a heart attack. In some cases a diagnosis of angina was wrong - it could have been a mild heart attack instead. The main difference between a heart attack and angina is that the patient with angina will feel better about 15 to 30 minutes after taking medication, while the heart attack patient won't.

Blood cholesterol levels 

Iif a person's blood cholesterol levels are high, he/she runs a higher risk of developing blood clots in the arteries. Blood clots can block the supply of blood to the heart muscle, causing a heart attack.

Diabetes

People with diabetes have a higher risk of developing several diseases and conditions, many of them contribute to a higher risk of heart attack.

Diet 

A person who consumes large quantities of, for example, animal fats, or saturated fats, will eventually have a higher risk of having a heart attack.

Genes 

You can inherit a higher risk of heart attack from your parents, and/or their parents.

Heart Surgery

Patients who have had heart surgery have a higher risk of having a heart attack.

Hypertension (High blood Pressure) 

Tthis could be due to lack of physical activity, overweight/obesity, diabetes, genes, and some other factors.

Obesity, Overweight

As more and more people are overweight, especially children, experts believe heart attacks will become more common in future (if the overweight children become overweight adults).

Physical Inactivity 

People who do not exercise have a much higher risk of having a heart attack, compared to people who exercise regularly.

Previous Heart Attack 

Anybody who has already had a heart attack is more likely to have another one, compared to other people.

Smoking

People who smoke heavily or regularly run a much higher risk of heart attack, compared to people who never smoked and those who gave up. Smoking regularly means smoking every day.

Check your Family History

If a close relative is at risk of developing coronary heart disease from smoking, high BP, high cholesterol, lack of physical activity, obesity and diabetes, then you could be at risk too.

How to prevent Heart Attack

1. You are what you eat! Eat nutritious, healthy food.

2. Choose foods low in saturated fat. Make sure you include servings of fruit, vegetables and whole grains which are rich in starch and fiber, but low in fat.

3. Cutting down on dietary cholesterol consumption can help bring down blood cholesterol. Egg white, and foods from plant sources do not have cholesterol.

4. Read food labels. Look for the amount of saturated fat, total fat, cholesterol and total calories per serving on the nutrition label.

5. Stress can be harmful by raising blood pressure, blood cholesterol, and making your heart beat faster. Relax, smile, don't get angry often.

6. Bring down high blood pressure. You can do this by minimizing risk factors, making lifestyle changes, or by taking medication if necessary.

7. Stop smoking. Stub out that cigarette butt - Now!

8. If you drink, do so in moderation. A limit of two drinks per day is good for your heart.

9. Fight the battle of the bulge! Obesity is bad. Stay slim and lean.

10. If you are overweight, try and lose the excess.

11. Don't try crash diets - instead opt for a slow, steady and sustained program to lose weight.

12. An active lifestyle is healthy. Exercise regularly.

13. Try and incorporate a higher activity level into daily activities like taking a walk, riding a bike to the supermarket, climbing stairs instead of using the elevator and playing sports like badminton and basketball.

Risk factors for heart attacks have often been talked about. Let us now focus more on the positive side of cardiac well being.