Heart attack
A heart attack does not mean someone is attacking your heart with a sharp weapon it simply means complete blockage of a tube which helps in transferring blood to the heart.
When the blood stops reaching the heart, that part of the heart becomes dead and if a large part of the heart becomes dead then it will lead to the death of a person. The human heart pumps approximately 1 lakh times per day so when a part of the heart does not get blood it starts paining first and later that part becomes dead and it will cause great damage to the heart. In India, around 30% of the population dies from heart attacks every year in which women are more likely to die from a heart attack than men.
Reasons for heart attack :
- •Stress and anxiety.
- •Lack of physical activity.
- •High blood pressure.
- •Improper diet.
- •Lack of sleep and late night sleep.
- •High lipid level.
- •Smoking and alcohol intake.
- •Extreme obesity.
How to identify a heart attack?
When a person cold sweats, having unbearable pain in the chest/breast or having pain in the hands, trouble breathing, and vomiting these may be the symptoms of having a heart attack.
If you feel like this, then you may go to the hospital for a check-up. Heart attack can be diagnosed by two tests, one electrocardiogram (ECG) and another troponin test, in this a few drops of your blood are taken and tested on a slice to check the troponin level in your blood If it is more than normal then it is a sign of causing a heart attack.
How to prevent a heart attack?
Firstly, you need to identify the amount of blockage in your heart. For this, you will have to do some tests to check levels of cholesterol, blood pressure, smoking, lipid test, obesity, and diabetes. If anyone is present then the chances of blockage are high so you need to have done CT Coronary Scan.
If you get blockage then you have to take precautions to prevent the increment of blockage so you can
- •Change your intake of food supplements.
- •Avoid intake of cholesterol(comes from animal food).
- •Triglycerides(comes from oil and dry fruits).
- •Avoid smoking and alcohol.
- •walking and exercises.
Types of heart attack
Heart attacks can be of 3 types- minor, massive, and major.
Minor heart attack
Blood is supplied by three coronary arteries, when these are blocked at the outer part it may cause a minor attack. Some people can notice that some don't even know about it. In this blood flow to the heart is partially blocked. It might last for three to five minutes. Less damage is caused to blood in this. It does not result in death. The technical term used for this is non-ST elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI).
Symptoms -
- •Little chest pain or discomfort.
- •Little pain in arm, shoulder, neck, back.
- •Nausea.
- •Shortness of breath with or without chest.
- •breast discomfort.
Major heart attack
It is a heart attack when the large part of the coronary artery which sends blood to the heart is blocked and the blood stops transferring to the heart. It causes more damage to the heart and the person may be due or may not be if proper treatment is given within time then there are more chances of survival.
Symptoms -
- •Tightness or pain in the chest.
- •Pain in arm, shoulder, neck, back.
- •Having pain while resting.
- •Abnormal heartbeat.
- •Nausea and vomiting.
- •Cold sweat.
- •Indigestion.
- •Anxiety.
Massive heart attack
This type of attack is a more serious type of heart attack. In this, a large portion of the artery gets blocked and two arteries get blocked at the same time. This causes huge damage to the heart and even leads to death in a short time or instant death. The technical term used for this is ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI).
Symptoms -
- •Lack of sleep.
- •Chest/breast pain.
- •Pain in arm, shoulder, neck, back.
- •Cold sweat.
- •Nausea and vomiting.
- •Indigestion.
- •Difficulty in breathing.
Women experience atypical symptoms more than men.
What to do in an emergency?
- •Do not waste your time thinking it is just a gas problem and taking soda, immediately call your area emergency number.
- •If it does not work, immediately move to the hospital with your friend or neighbor.
- •Chew or swallow Atorvastatin, Desprin, and Clopidogrel but after the prescription by your doctor, do not take them without a doctor's consultation.
- •Till the way to the hospital, if the person becomes unconscious then begin CPR, push hard and fast on the center of the person's chest, and give 80-100 compressions.
Reasons for sudden heart attack
•Severe stress
Stress is one of the major reasons that cause high blood pressure and results in heart attack. Try to control it and if you want to know how to handle stress please refer to the article Stress: A Game of Emotion or a Game of notion in Women's Life.
•High-fat meal
Eating too much or a high-fat meal in the dinner will higher the risk of getting a sudden heart attack.
•Excess of exercise
Doing a lot of exercise also results in heart attack as we know excess of everything is bad. Due to this, many youngsters fall into the trap of sudden heart attacks.
Women are more likely to die from a heart attack, wonder why?
Women mistakenly think of the sign of heart attack as only back pain or arm pain as they think it is due to a lot of work they are doing and they don't get rest that's why they are having such pain. If they take painkillers or rest for a while they will get normal.
At the time of menopause, they think it is because of changes in their reproductive system.
During pregnancy or after delivery premature infants or after miscarriage are at high risk of developing a cardiovascular disease.
Women after the age of 55 are at high risk of having a heart attack.
Ignorance of such factors and compromising one's health will make it worsen and result in serious problems like heart attacks.
Women do take care of your health. Do not compromise with your health while taking care of others.
A Dynamiclady ~ Anshika Rajput
contact - anshika@dynamiclady.in