How to prevent causes and risks of heart attack focuses on the definition of heart attack, its symptoms, and the tests you need to do to reveal certain signs.
A heart attack occurs when an area of your heart muscle dies or is permanently damaged because of an inadequate supply of oxygen to that area. Heart attack accounts for 1 out of every 5 deaths. It is a major cause of sudden death in adults.
Causes
Most heart attacks are caused by a clot blocking one of the coronary arteries (the blood vessels that bring blood and oxygen to the heart muscle). The clot usually forms in a coronary artery that has been previously narrowed due to changes related to atherosclerosis. The atherosclerosis plaque (buildup) inside the arterial wall sometimes cracks, triggering the formation of a thrombus or clot.
A clot in the coronary artery interrupts the flow of blood and oxygen to the heart muscle. This leads to the death of heart cells in that area. The damaged heart muscle permanently loses its ability to contract, and the remaining heart muscle must compensate for it.
Risk Factors
The risk factors for coronary artery disease and heart attack include:
- Smoking
- High blood pressure
- Too much fat in the diet
- High blood cholesterol levels (LDL)
- Diabetes
- Male gender (slowly affecting female gender)
- Age
- Heredity
Newer risk factors for coronary artery disease have been identified over the past several years, including elevated homocysteine and C-reactive protein levels. Homocysteine levels can be treated with folic acid supplements in the diet. Studies are still ongoing about the practical value of these new factors.
Symptoms
- Chest pain below the sternum (breastbone) is a major symptom of a heart attack. But with many cases, the pain may be subtle or even completely absent, especially in the elderly and diabetics.
- Back Pain
- Abdominal Pain.
- Pain that radiates to the chest, arms, shoulder, the neck, teeth, and jaw.
- Pain that is prolonged, typically greater than 20 minutes.
- Pain similar to angina, but not relieved by resting or nitroglycerin.
- Pain that may be described as bad indigestion, intense, severe, subtle squeezing or heavy pressure.
- A tight band on the chest.
- “An elephant sitting on my chest”.
- Sudden shortness of breath may or may not be accompanied by pain.
- Cough.
- Light-headedness – dizziness.
- Fainting.
- Nausea or vomiting.
- Sweating may be profuse.
- Dry mouth.
- Feeling of “impending doom”.
- Anxiety.
Additional symptoms that may be linked to heart attack:
- Seizures.
- Fatigue.
- Temporary loss of breath.
- Difficulty breathing when lying down.
- Low blood pressure.
It is important to note that you may not have any symptoms. This is referred to as a “silent attack”
Tests And Signs
Heart attack tests often reveal signs such as a rapid pulse, and blood pressure may be normal, high, or low. Listening to the chest with a stethoscope may also reveal a heart murmur or other abnormal sounds.
The following tests may also show signs of heart attack and the extent of heart damage:
- An electrocardiogram (ECG), single or repeated over several hours.
- Coronary angiography
- Nuclear ventriculography
- Echocardiography
The by-products of heart damage and factors indicating high risk for heart attack may show on the following tests:
- Troponin I and troponin T
- CK and CK-MB
- Myoglobin-serum
Prevention
The next major tips will help you with how to prevent causes and risks of heart attack:
Manage risk factors
Try to control your cardiac risk factors whenever possible. Control blood pressure and total cholesterol levels. To help with cholesterol control, your doctor may prescribe a medication of the statins group (atorvastatin, simvastatin). You may also need to take aspirin or clopidogrel daily. Clopidogrel is an antiplatelet medicine that prevents platelets from sticking together and forming a dangerous blood clot.
Adopt a healthy lifestyle
It’s important to avoid smoking, modify your diet if necessary (increase vegetables, soya, olive or other vegetable oils, and fruits and decrease animal fats), control diabetes, and lose weight if obese. Exercise daily or several times weekly by walking and including specific exercises to improve cardiovascular fitness. Consult your doctor before you embark on exercise.
Follow up with care post heart attack
After a heart attack, follow-up care is important to reduce your risk of having a second heart attack. A cardiac rehabilitation programme is often recommended to help you gradually return to a “normal” lifestyle. It’s essential to follow your doctor’s advice on exercise, diet, and medication regimen.
