A Heart attack is the most leading cause of death these days. People might die of a heart attack suddenly. There can be many causes of a heart attack. We will discuss the detailed view on a heart attack in this blog.
Heart attack is a condition where blood supply is deprived to a part of the heart. Usually a patient due to lack of knowledge, does not administer the heart attack symptoms to the doctor which proves to be fatal, although heart attack can be prevented by taking certain measures like maintaining a good lifestyle.
Symptoms of Heart Attack
Symptoms can vary from one person to another, the symptoms may include
- Changes in behaviour like mental status, especially in older adu;ts
- Severe chest pain, feeling pressure, squeezing or fullness. Pain starts from the center of the chest and may also be radiating to shoulder, arm, back, etc.
- Pain lasting for minutes to hours
- Heavy rapid, weak or irregular pulse.
- Cold sweat
- Lightheadedness
- Upper body pain
- Nausea
- Indigestion
- Profuse sweating
- Vomiting
- Pale skin, and their lips may turn slight blue.
- shortness of breath
- Weakness, feeling fatigue.
- Numbness, itching or tingling sensations in arm
First Aid
- You should make the person side down, rest and relax
- Ask the person to loosen its clothes
- If the person is on chest medication, ask him to take it such as nitroglycerin
- The pain usually goes away within 3 minutes of taking the medication.
- If the person is unresponsive and has fainted, you should start the CPR, and call emergency right away
- You should do CPR until the patient starts breathing.
- You should not leave the patient by himself, and accompany until emergency arrives
What Are the Causes of Heart Attack?
- Myocardial infarction
- Diabetes
- Using illegal drugs
- Overweight
- Tobacco consumption
- Hypertension
- Elevated cholesterol
- Anxiety
- Tension
- Excessive alcohol drinking
- Family history of heart disease
- Sedentary lifestyle
- Atherosclerosis
- Heart blockages
What Not to Do if You Have a Heart Attack?
- Do not panic
- Do not leave the person alone until emergency arrives
- Do not ignore the symptoms of heart attack and call emergency right away
- Do not wait for getting the symptoms more worsening
- Do not take anything by mouth except nitroglycerine (heart medicine)
How to Prevent Heart Attack?
- Quit smoking and tobacco consumption- Smoking and using tobacco products can considerably increase the chance of getting a heart attack
- Taking less stress- One of the possible reasons for a heart attack is stress. You should take stress reduction measures like physical activity, medication, or quality time with loved ones.
- Take a healthy diet- While taking unhealthy and junk food especially that contains saturated fats, increases the risks of getting a heart attack. Consuming a good healthy diet can considerably reduce the risk of getting one.
- Get regular checkups- High blood pressure and high cholesterol are the factors that can lead to heart attack, getting screening time to time can prevent you from getting a heart attack
- Reduce weight- Obesity and being overweight can increase the chances of getting a heart attack. If you lose weight the chances of getting a heart attack also reduce.
- Do regular exercise- Exercising daily can lower the risk of getting a heart attack. Exercising daily for 30 minutes is also fine.
- Take good sleep- Getting enough sleep can also reduce the risk of getting a heart attack. Not sleeping properly can increase stress in the body thereby increasing chances of a heart attack.
Conclusion
First aid has helped revive many cases of heart attack when performed timely. The initial symptoms of heart attack are often ignored, which lead to death eventually. It is necessary to address the symptoms of a heart attack timely to a doctor so as to treat and prevent it. Talk to a doctor if you are getting one.
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- Dr. Ravin Sharma MBBS, MD Radiology)
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Frequently Asked Questions Related Heart Attack
How dangerous is a heart attack?
A heart attack if not addressed timely to a doctor can be fatal. Due to a heart attack, death happens every 4 minutes. Person can suffer from a stroke due to heart attack complications if not taken appropriate measures.a person dies every 33 seconds due to heart attack in india.
How long does a heart attack last?
A heart attack typically represents chest pain, it can last for a few minutes and up to several hours as well. But the heart attack symptoms do not last for days, if it is happening for more than 1 day, you might be having other heart conditions for which you should consider taking a professional consultation.
How To Know If I Am Having A Heart Attack?
A heart attack typically represents acute chest pain, starting from the center of the chest. The pain can radiate and spread to the left arm, shoulder and back as well. Other symptoms of a heart attack can be nausea, dizziness, loss of consciousness, etc.
How to avoid a heart attack?
By taking certain measures like maintaining a healthy lifestyle, maining good BMI, giving up smoking and alcohol consumption, taking medications timely etc can help reduce chances of having a heart attack.
What are the risks of having a heart attack?
Especially men, more than 45 years of age and women post menopause have more risk of having a heart attack. Also a family history of heart diseases pose more risks of having a heart attack.
What food is good for my heart health?
Certain food like fish containing omega-3 fatty acid, eggs, nuts, seeds, soy products, legumes etc are good for heart health
Can ECG detect a heart attack?
An ECG can detect previous episodes of heart attack and a heart attack that is currently happening. The ECG can also determine the part of the heart being damaged.
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