Heart attacks are the number one cause of death worldwide, beating both cancer and diabetes. Heart attack is very common these days, but it can be prevented if one knows the right tactics. This article provides tips on what you should know about how to prevent heart attack.
A heart attack happens when a blockage in a coronary artery stops blood from getting to the heart. Doctors call a heart attack a myocardial infarction. When the artery is completely blocked, doctors call it an ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). When it is only partially blocked, they call it a non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI). Coronary artery disease (CAD) is the most common cause of a heart attack.
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Heart Attack Causes
Your heart muscle needs a constant supply of oxygen-rich blood. Your coronary arteries give your heart this critical blood supply. If you have coronary artery disease, those arteries become narrow, and blood can’t flow as well as it should. When your blood supply is blocked, you have a heart attack.
Fat, calcium, proteins, and inflammatory cells build up in your arteries to form plaques. These plaque deposits are hard on the outside and soft and mushy on the inside.
When the plaque is hard, the outer shell cracks. This is called a rupture. Platelets (disc-shaped things in your blood that help it clot) come to the area, and blood clots form around the plaque. If a blood clot blocks your artery, your heart muscle becomes starved for oxygen. The muscle cells soon die, causing permanent damage.
Rarely, a spasm in your coronary artery can also cause a heart attack. During this coronary spasm, your arteries restrict or spasm on and off, cutting off the blood supply to your heart muscle (ischemia). It can happen while you’re at rest and even if you don’t have serious coronary artery disease.
Each coronary artery sends blood to a different part of your heart muscle. How much the muscle is damaged depends on the size of the area that the blocked artery supplies and the amount of time between the attack and treatment.
Your heart muscle starts to heal soon after a heart attack. This takes about 8 weeks. Just like a skin wound, a scar forms in the damaged area. But the new scar tissue doesn’t move the way it should. So your heart can’t pump as much after a heart attack. How much that ability to pump is affected depends on the size and location of the scar.
Heart Attack Symptoms
Symptoms of a heart attack include:
- Discomfort, pressure, heaviness, tightness, squeezing, or pain in your chest or arm or below your breastbone
- Discomfort that goes into your back, jaw, throat, or arm
- Fullness, indigestion, or a choking feeling (it may feel like heartburn)
- Sweating, upset stomach, vomiting, or dizziness
- Severe weakness, anxiety, fatigue, or shortness of breath
- Fast or uneven heartbeat
Symptoms can be different from person to person or from one heart attack to another. Women are more likely to have these heart attack symptoms:
- Unusual fatigue
- Shortness of breath
- Nausea or vomiting
- Dizziness or lightheadedness
- Discomfort in your gut. It may feel like indigestion.
- Discomfort in the neck, shoulder, or upper back
With some heart attacks, you won’t notice any symptoms (a “silent” myocardial infarction). This is more common in people who have diabetes.
How to prevent a heart attack
One of the biggest contributors heart attacks is a lack of commitment to a heart-healthy lifestyle. Your lifestyle is not only your best defense against heart disease, it’s also your responsibility. A heart-healthy lifestyle includes the ideas listed below. By following these simple steps you can reduce all of the modifiable risk factors for heart diseases and heart attacks:
Stop smoking
If you smoke, quit. If someone in your household smokes, encourage them to quit. We know it’s tough. But it’s tougher to recover from a heart attack or stroke or to live with chronic heart disease. Commit to quit. We’re here to help if you need it.
High blood cholesterol
Fat lodged in your arteries is a disaster waiting to happen. Sooner or later it could trigger a heart attack or stroke. You’ve got to reduce your intake of saturated fat, trans fat and cholesterol and get moving. If diet and physical activity alone don’t get those numbers down, then medication may be the key. Take it just like the doctor orders. Here’s the lowdown on where those numbers need to be:
- Total Cholesterol
Your total cholesterol score is calculated using the following equation: HDL + LDL + 20 percent of your triglyceride level. - Low-density-lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol = “bad” cholesterol
A low LDL cholesterol level is considered good for your heart health. However, your LDL number should no longer be the main factor in guiding treatment to prevent heart attack and stroke, according to the latest guidelines from the American Heart Association. For patients taking statins, the guidelines say they no longer need to get LDL cholesterol levels down to a specific target number. Lifestyle factors such as a diet high in saturated and transfats can raise LDL cholesterol. - High-density-lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol = “good” cholesterol
With HDL (good) cholesterol, higher levels are typically better. Low HDL cholesterol puts you at higher risk for heart disease. People with high blood triglycerides usually also have lower HDL cholesterol. Genetic factors, type 2 diabetes, smoking, being overweight and being sedentary can all result in lower HDL cholesterol. - Triglycerides
Triglyceride is the most common type of fat in the body. Normal triglyceride levels vary by age and sex. A high triglyceride level combined with low HDL cholesterol or high LDL cholesterol is associated with atherosclerosis, the buildup of fatty deposits in artery walls that increases the risk for heart attack and stroke.
Choose good nutrition
A healthy diet is one of the best weapons you have to fight cardiovascular disease. The food you eat (and the amount) can affect other controllable risk factors: cholesterol, blood pressure, diabetes and overweight. Choose nutrient-rich foods — which have vitamins, minerals, fiber and other nutrients but are lower in calories — over nutrient-poor foods. Choose a diet that emphasizes intake of vegetables, fruits, and whole grains; includes low-fat dairy products, poultry, fish, legumes, nontropical vegetable oils, and nuts; and limits intake of sweets, sugar-sweetened beverages, and red meats. And to maintain a healthy weight, coordinate your diet with your physical activity level so you’re using up as many calories as you take in.
Lower high blood pressure
It’s a major risk factor for stroke a leading cause of disability in the United States. Stroke recovery is difficult at best and you could be disabled for life. Shake that salt habit, take your medications as recommended by your doctor and get moving. Those numbers need to get down and stay down. An optimal blood pressure reading is less than 120/80 mmHg.
Aim for a healthy weight
Obesity is highly prevalent in America, not only for adults but also for children. Fad diets and supplements are not the answer. Good nutrition, controlling calorie intake and physical activity are the only way to maintain a healthy weight. Obesity places you at risk for high cholesterol, high blood pressure and insulin resistance, a precursor of type 2 diabetes — the very factors that heighten your risk of cardiovascular disease. Your Body Mass Index (BMI) can help tell you if your weight is healthy.
Be physically active every day
Be physically active every day. Research has shown that at least 150 minutes per week of moderate-intensity physical activity can help lower blood pressure, lower cholesterol and keep your weight at a healthy level. And something IS better than nothing. If you’re inactive now, start out slow. Even a few minutes at a time may offer some health benefits. Studies show that people who have achieved even a moderate level of fitness are much less likely to die early than those with a low fitness level.
Limit alcohol
Drinking too much alcohol can raise blood pressure, increase cardiomyopathy, stroke, cancer, and other diseases It can contribute to high triglycerides and produce irregular heartbeats. Excessive alcohol consumption contributes to obesity, alcoholism, suicide and accidents.
However, there is a cardioprotective effect of moderate alcohol consumption. If you drink, limit your alcohol consumption to no more than two drinks per day for men and no more than one drink per day for women. The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism defines on drink as 1-1/2 fluid ounces (fl oz) of 80-proof spirits (such as bourbon, Scotch, vodka, gin, etc.), 5 fl oz of wine, or 12 fl oz of regular beer. It’s not recommended that nondrinkers start using alcohol or that drinkers increase the amount they drink.
Reduce stress
A few studies have noted a relationship between coronary heart disease risk and stress in a person’s life that may affect the risk factors for heart disease and stroke. For example, people under stress may overeat, start smoking or smoke more than they otherwise would. Research has even shown that stress reaction in young adults predicts middle-age blood pressure risk.
Manage diabetes
At least 68% of people >65 years of age with DM die of some form of HD; 16% die of stroke . Other risk factors, such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, smoking, obesity, and lack of physical activity can greatly increase a person with diabetes’ chance of developing cardiovascular disease.
Conclusion
The heart, after all is the muscle that regulates the blood flow throughout our whole body. This muscle has been proven to be most vulnerable to diseases compared to other muscles so it’s only right that we endeavor to take good care of it.