Heart Attack
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What Is a Heart Attack?
A heart attack occurs when the supply of blood and oxygen to an area of heart muscle is blocked, usually by a clot in a coronary artery. Often, this blockage leads to arrhythmias (irregular heartbeat or rhythm) that cause a severe decrease in the pumping function of the heart and may bring about sudden death. If the blockage is not treated within a few hours, the affected heart muscle will die and be replaced by scar tissue.
Each year, over a million people in the U.S. have a heart attack and about half of them die. About one-half of those who die do so within 1 hour of the start of symptoms and before reaching the hospital. Most of these sudden deaths (within 1 hour) are due to arrhythmias that cause a severe decrease in the pumping function of the heart.
A heart attack is a life-threatening event. Everyone should know the warning signs of a heart attack and how to get emergency help. Many people suffer permanent damage to their hearts or die because they do not get help immediately.
Each year, more than a million persons in the U.S. have a heart attack and about half (515,000) of them die. About one-half of those who die do so within 1 hour of the start of symptoms and before reaching the hospital.
Emergency personnel can often stop arrhythmias with emergency CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation), defibrillation (electrical shock), and prompt advanced cardiac life support procedures. If care is sought soon enough, blood flow in the blocked artery can be restored in time to prevent permanent damage to the heart. Yet, most people do not seek medical care for 2 hours or more after symptoms begin. Many people wait 12 hours or longer.
What Are the Signs and Symptoms of a Heart Attack?
The warning signs and symptoms of a heart attack can include:
* Chest discomfort. Most heart attacks involve discomfort in the center of the chest that lasts for more than a few minutes, or goes away and comes back. The discomfort can feel like uncomfortable pressure, squeezing, fullness, or pain. Heart attack pain can sometimes feel like indigestion or heartburn.
* Discomfort in other areas of the upper body. Can include pain, discomfort, or numbness in one or both arms, the back, neck, jaw, or stomach.
* Shortness of breath. Often comes along with chest discomfort. But it also can occur before chest discomfort.
* Other symptoms. May include breaking out in a cold sweat, having nausea and vomiting, or feeling light-headed or dizzy.
Signs and symptoms vary from person to person. In fact, if you have a second heart attack, your symptoms may not be the same as for the first heart attack. Some people have no symptoms. This is called a silent heart attack.
How Can I Prevent a Heart Attack?
Most heart attacks are caused by coronary artery disease (CAD). You can help prevent a heart attack by knowing about your risk factors for CAD and heart attack and taking action to lower your risks.
You can lower your risk of having a heart attack, even if you have already had a heart attack or are told that your chances of having a heart attack are high.
To prevent a heart attack, you will most likely need to make lifestyle changes. You may also need to get treatment for conditions that raise your risk.
You can lower your risk for CAD and a heart attack by making healthy lifestyle choices:
* Eat a healthy diet to prevent or reduce high blood pressure and high blood cholesterol, and maintain a healthy weight
* If you smoke, quit
* Exercise as directed by your doctor
* Lose weight if you are overweight or obese
What Conditions Influence Heart Attack?
In addition to making lifestyle changes, you can help prevent heart attacks by treating conditions you have that make a heart attack more likely:
* High blood cholesterol. If you have high cholesterol, follow your doctor's advice about lowering your cholesterol. Take medications to lower your cholesterol as directed.
* High blood pressure. If you have high blood pressure, follow your doctor's advice about keeping your blood pressure under control. Take blood pressure medications as directed.
* High blood sugar (diabetes). If you have diabetes, follow your doctor's advice about keeping your blood sugar levels under control. Take medications as directed.
Source: National Institutes of Health
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Researchers at Karolinska University, Karolinska Institute target heart attack prevention
2009 OCT 26 - (NewsRx.com) -- Researchers detail in 'Increased risk and worse prognosis of myocardial infarction in patients with prior hospitalization for epilepsy--the Stockholm Heart Epidemiology Program,' new data in heart attack. "The association of epilepsy with risk of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) remains uncertain, and its association with myocardial infarction prognosis has not been evaluated. In this study, we performed a population-based case-control study that included 1799 cases with first AMI and 2339 controls, frequency matched by age, sex and hospital catchment area," researchers in Stockholm, Sweden report. "A history of epilepsy was identified using the Swedish hospital discharge registry. Information on lifestyle and biomarkers was determined from questionnaires and standardized clinic examinations. The cohort of cases was followed for 8 years to evaluate the relationship between epilepsy and post AMI prognosis. A diagnosis of epilepsy was associated with higher risk of incident AMI, with an odds ratio (OR) of 4.92 [95% confidence interval (CI) 2.34-10.31] after adjustment for age, gender, hospital catchment area, and education. There was a graded positive relation between number of hospitalizations for epilepsy and risk of AMI. Adjustment for smoking and levels of tissue plasminogen activator (tPA)/plasminogen activator inhibitor 1 (PAI-1) complex, von Willebrand factor and homocysteine weakened, and adjustment for high-density lipoprotein (HDL) and fibrinogen strengthened, the relationship between epilepsy and AMI. The OR for epilepsy was 4.83 (95% CI 1.62-14.43) when age, gender, hospital catchment area, education and established, clinically relevant AMI risk factors, i.e. diabetes mellitus, smoking, hypertension, physical activity, obesity, high-density lipoprotein, total cholesterol and alcohol consumption were simultaneously controlled for. Epilepsy was also associated with AMI prognosis. Multivariable adjusted hazard ratios for total and cardiac mortality and for a combined outcome of cardiac death and non-fatal reinfarction, heart failure and stroke during follow up, were 1.95 (0.70-5.43), 3.49 (1.05-11.65) and 2.39 (1.16-4.90), respectively. We conclude that epilepsy might be a risk and an adverse prognostic factor for AMI. Smoking and increase in the level of homocysteine, tPA/PAI-1 complex and von Willebrand factor are candidate mechanisms linking epilepsy to increased AMI risk," wrote I. Janszky and colleagues, Karolinska University, Karolinska Institute. The researchers concluded: "Physicians should be aware of the potential cardiovascular implications of epilepsy." Janszky and colleagues published their study in Brain (Increased risk and worse prognosis of myocardial infarction in patients with prior hospitalization for epilepsy--the Stockholm Heart Epidemiology Program. Brain, 2009;132(Pt 10):2798-804). For additional information, contact I. Janszky, Karolinska University Hospital, Dept. of Public Health Sciences, Karolinska Institutet, Norrbacka, Stockholm, Sweden. Publisher contact information for the journal Brain is: Oxford University Press, Great Clarendon St., Oxford OX2 6DP, England. Keywords: Sweden, Stockholm, Heart Attack Prevention, Central Nervous System Disease, Clinical Trial Research, Enzyme Research, Epidemiology, Epilepsy, Heart Attack, Hematology, Myocardial Infarction, Obesity, Obesity and Diabetes, Plasminogen, Von Willebrand Disease. This article was prepared by Pain & Central Nervous System Week editors from staff and other reports. Copyright 2009, Pain & Central Nervous System Week via NewsRx.com.
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