One of the most common causes of death in the developed world is a myocardial infarction. Many individuals are more familiar with the other term, heart attack.
A heart attack is a medical emergency. Fortunately, if the symptoms of a heart attack are identified as soon as they emerge, there is a greater chance for long-term recovery for the patient.
It is critical to know what heart attack symptoms are. Even more important is knowing the causes or risk factors of a heart attack. It may prevent this fatal heart condition from occurring in the first place.
Heart Attack Causes
It is important to recognise and appreciate the difference between risk factors for a heart attack and actual causes. Heart attack causes are minimal in scope compared to heart attack risk factors, for it is the risk factors that bring forth the causes.
As a general rule, heart attack causes are mainly associated with psychological and physiological stress. An individual tends to be at the greatest risk of a heart attack if engaging in significantly more strenuous physical activity than usual. The main physiological cause of heart attack is coronary heart disease, where the gradual build-up of fatty plaques shrink the lining of coronary arteries.
The triggers for a heart attack (risk factors) are the male gender, alcoholism, chronic smoking, obesity and age. The risk of a heart attack increases on and after age 45 for men and age 53 for women.
Signs of a Heart Attack
Heart attack symptoms usually manifest over a period of several minutes. The chief symptom of a myocardial infarction is, according to one patient, the feeling of an elephant sitting on one’s chest. Shortly afterwards, pain would be felt in the arms, neck, and to a lesser extent, lower jaw and upper back. Heartburn may also be experienced during this stage.
Many times the signs of a heart attack have been mistaken for another heart condition, resulting in unnecessary admittances to hospital. But it is always better to rush to the nearest hospital for nothing, rather than allow a suspected heart attack to take its destructive course.
Heart Attack Prevention
It is an unfortunate fact of life that many heart attack patients have died before the paramedics arrived, or on their way to the emergency room. Such a fate could have been prevented in many cases if the right strategies were put into place throughout the course of life.
Heart attack prevention relates to doing what people can to eliminate as many risk factors for heart attack as possible. Psychological and physiological stresses are an ongoing part of life, so it is impossible to shun them. But regular physical exercise, losing weight (if needed) and quitting smoking and limiting alcohol consumption are sure to add years to one’s life.
High cholesterol and high blood pressure are also major risk factors for heart attack, occurring in the majority of lethal cases.
Sources:
The Reader’s Digest. (1989). Medical Question & Answer Book. Surry Hills: Reader’s Digest Association Far East Pty Ltd.
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