Sudden pain and tightness in the chest is known to be one of the most decisive symptoms of a heart attack. Factors such as diabetes, poor eating habits, inactivity and overweight, which lead to an unhealthy lifestyle, are predisposing factors for heart diseases and especially heart attacks. However, every step towards a healthy and regular life can help prevent cardiovascular diseases. According to research, the most common causes of death in the world are heart attack and stroke.
Early intervention is of great importance in a heart attack. It is beneficial to consult a physician as soon as possible if there are suspicions about heart health, both to reduce the risk to life and to save the heart muscle from harm.
The main symptoms of a heart attack are chest pain, also known as heart pain, and a feeling of chest tightness. This chest pain feels like someone is pressing on the chest. At the same time, this chest pain can affect the left arm, shoulder, neck, abdomen and back. Usually these pains can last for 10-13 minutes. Other symptoms of a heart attack can be listed as follows:
Chest Pain: Symptoms of a heart attack may include pain in the center of the chest. This pain usually lasts for a few minutes. The pain can be described as pressure, squeezing or heaviness. At the same time, stomach-related complaints such as indigestion and burning in the chest may also occur. Symptoms of a heart attack can often be confused with symptoms of reflux, a stomach disease, because they are similar.
Pain radiating to the upper body: Pain in the arms, shoulders, upper stomach, neck and jaw can be caused by a heart attack. Women may experience pain in the abdomen and lower chest during a heart attack. Therefore, you should be careful and pay attention to the pain. In men, pain often occurs in the upper back.
Shortness of breath Occasional shortness of breath can be a sign of a heart attack in itself. It can occur during or before the pain. Shortness of breath occurs because the heart cannot pump enough blood.
Sweating: If a person is not doing any activity or exercise and yet sweats more than normal, this may indicate heart problems. This intense sweating can also take the form of cold sweats.
Fatigue: If a person is experiencing intense stress at the time of a heart attack, this can lead to fatigue and weakness. Shortness of breath with fatigue may be a symptom that indicates a heart attack in the pre-crisis period. Sudden attacks of fatigue for no apparent reason are a symptom of a heart attack that is usually seen in women.
Dizziness: Dizziness, lightheadedness, nausea and vomiting along with fatigue are among the symptoms of a heart attack. Again, this condition, which is more common in women, should not be neglected and underestimated.
Palpitations: Along with pain in the heart, palpitations are also a common symptom of a heart attack. From time to time, these palpitations can be felt not only in the chest but also in the neck.
- Increased or prolonged symptoms are also an important symptom that increases the risk of heart attack. A heart attack may not always be accompanied by sudden (acute) and severe chest pain. Sometimes a person can have a heart attack without any obvious symptoms or complaints. For example, diabetics are among patients who can have a silent heart attack.
- Men are more prone to heart attacks and cardiovascular diseases than women. Men may experience heart disease at an earlier age than women. Men usually have similar and stable symptoms. In women, symptoms vary. They experience non-classical symptoms such as prolonged fatigue, anxiety and sleep problems. Therefore, it is important to be careful and pay attention to the symptoms.
What Causes a Heart Attack?
A heart attack, or myocardial infarction, is characterized by a sudden rupture of the plaque in the heart vessel, causing the blood in that area to clot and block the vessel, and then the heart muscle does not receive enough oxygen, that is, the blood flow is cut off. If the heart tissue is not adequately supplied with blood, there is a high risk of permanent damage. The heart, which has a muscular structure and pumps about 8200 liters of blood a day, can develop diseases such as heart valve diseases, heart muscle diseases and heart attacks caused by coronary vessels if there is a defect in its structure.
In the event of a heart attack, if the vessel is opened as soon as possible and a correct intervention is not performed, tissue loss develops in the heart. This reduces the pumping power of the heart and heart failure occurs. It is known that 201,000 people die from heart attacks every year in Turkey.
What Causes Heart Attacks?
The formation of plaques in the form of fat in the vessels that provide blood flow to the heart is the most common cause of heart attack. However, problems such as clotting or rupture in the vessel may also indicate a heart attack. A heart attack can also be caused by fatty deposits that can form in the blood vessels due to various factors. To explain the causes of a heart attack in more detail:
- Smoking is one of the major factors that cause heart attacks. The incidence of heart attacks in smokers is three times higher than in non-smokers.
- High levels of bad cholesterol (LDL) in the blood increase the risk of heart attack. Animal foods with high cholesterol content: offal such as sausage, salami, sausage, bacon; seafood such as mussels, shrimp, squid; dairy products such as cream, butter, cream should be consumed as limited as possible and if not consumed, it will have an effect that minimizes the risk of heart attack.
- Diabetes is also a factor that triggers heart attacks. In diabetic patients, the elasticity of the vessel wall deteriorates and the rate of blood clotting may increase. However, people with insulin resistance are also at risk of heart attack. Both diabetics and people with insulin resistance have a high risk of dying from a heart attack. Therefore, early precautions should be taken and a lifestyle of healthy eating and frequent physical activity should be adopted.
- Increased pressure in the blood vessels, i.e. increased blood pressure, increases the risk of heart attack.
- Damage and deterioration in the vascular structure is likely to occur in parallel with advancing age. This is another risk factor for heart attack.
- In the postmenopausal period, women have a higher risk of having a heart attack. On the other hand, since women secrete the hormone estrogen, this acts as a protection against heart attack. Men are therefore more prone to heart attacks than women.
- Obesity is also a factor that damages the mechanism of blood vessels. It causes premature aging and hardening of the arteries and increases the risk of heart attack.
- A family history of heart attack in first-degree relatives also plays a decisive role in the risk of having a heart attack.
What is Heart Attack Treatment?
Early diagnosis and treatment is of great importance for individuals at risk of heart attack. Measures that can be taken before the person is diagnosed with a heart attack can be very effective in preventing heart damage. Some methods that can be applied within the scope of the diagnosis and treatment process can be stated as follows:
- Nitroglycerin and other medications to reduce chest pain and improve blood flow to prevent blood clotting
- After a heart attack has been diagnosed, there are two different treatment methods to relieve the blockage in the heart vessels: treatment with clot-dissolving drugs and percutaneous coronary intervention
Thrombolytic therapy (treatment with clot dissolving drugs)
It is a treatment that dissolves the clots in the blood vessels and opens up the vascular access. This treatment is activated within the first 5 hours after a heart attack. It should be started immediately after diagnosis.
Percutaneous coronary intervention
In this non-surgical method, a thin, plastic tube inserted through the arm or groin vein is advanced to the level of stenosis in the vein and the vein is opened by inflating the balloon at the end when the problematic area is reached. At the end of the intervention, blood flows through the blood vessel. Thus, the vessel remains open for years after the procedure.
Other treatment methods for heart attack include medications recommended by the physician and changes towards a healthy lifestyle. The medications that the physician may recommend can be stated as follows:
-ADE Inhibitors
-Blood Thinners
-Beta Blockers
-Cholesterol Lowering Drugs
The person undergoes coronary bypass surgery.