HEART ATTACK

Heart attack:

Our heart is a muscle and like any other part of our body, needs oxygen to function properly. A heart attack occurs precisely when the oxygen supply is reduced or blocked in part because the plaque or what is commonly called fat in the coronary arteries that supply blood to our hearts, have narrowed and hardened (arteriosclerosis), forming a plug  preventing normal circulatory flow.

Causes of a heart attack:

Due to the pressure exerted by the blood on the wall of the arteries, these segments of fat that are blocking blood flow to the heart, can break, and the body reacts by forming a blood clot around the plate which also cause the blood not reaches our heart.

Once our heart can not receive the oxygen that is carried in the blood, it begins to die which is exactly when the heart attack which in turn produce an oppressive chest pain occurs. The part where the heart attack occurs, will get dead tissue and different color from the rest of the heart muscle. If part of the muscle dies  that means that our heart will not have the same force as before. Remember that our heart is the pump that pushes oxygenated blood to all parts of our body from head to toe last our feet.

Risk factors:

Risk factors are those situations, traits or characteristics that increase the chances of a person contracting a disease.

The American Heart Association has identified several risk factors and establishes that some of them can not be modified as age, gender and heredity, others they can be changed by people as obesity, starting to eat healthfully and leaving the habit of smoking.

Risk factors associated with heart attacks are:

Age: The chance of having a heart attack increases with age, usually after age 50.

Gender: Men are more likely to suffer a heart attack than women.

High pressure:

Family history: Be more vigilant and take extra care if there is already a history of relatives with this disease as mother, brothers, uncles, etc.

And this second group of factors I have scored apart because it corresponds to factors that are in your hands to remove them from the list. 

Drug use, tobacco and alcohol - can stop consuming if you choose.

High cholesterol - can take it to normal levels if feeding habits are improved food, and  start exercising 30 minutes a day.

Obesity: This factor is removed from the list by eating a balanced diet and adopting a healthy lifestyle.

Stress: A healthy lifestyle as recreation, exercise, and relaxation such as yoga.  Just by doing what you make you filled with happiness in your spare time,  will help lower stress levels.

Signs and symptoms to recognize if someone is is having a heart attack

Discomfort, pain or persistent chest tightness.

Pain that may spread to neck, jaw, shoulder and arm.

Breathlessness

pale, clammy skin.

Dizziness.

Sense of impending doom.

It is likely that not all people with a heart attack produce all the symptoms listed above. However, women can give shortness of breath, indigestion, nausea or vomiting and back or jaw pain.

Recommendations:

• Call 911 as soon as possible if the person concerned chest discomfort.

• Loosen clothing.

• Help the person to rest in a comfortable position but half-sitting to help with shortness of breath. Do not put it to walk or to make unnecessary efforts.

• If this person takes medicines for heart disease, help her/him to take them ASSAP.

• Have the person chew one or two aspirin for adult.

• Try to reassure the person until professional help is present.

• Do not give anything to eat or take  to the person.

The American Heart Association recommends taking preventive measures to avoid a heart from our earliest days of life to form healthy habits. The earlier start to reduce risk factors, to better enjoy our heart condition.

I hope this information will be useful and please share. Doing this we can save lives! Cynthia R.