What is a heart attack

A heart attack is dangerous, but its occurrence can be prevented by paying attention to the symptoms that have arisen in a timely manner.

Many mistakenly believe that myocardial infarction and heart attack are the same thing, but this is not entirely true. Of course, a heart attack may be a consequence of a heart attack, but not always: with timely assistance, necrotic changes in the heart muscle can be avoided. But how to recognize an attack in a timely manner? Is it possible to prevent its occurrence?

What happens to the heart during an attack

To know how to recognize a heart attack, it is necessary to consider the mechanism of its development.

Probably, many people from the school biology course remember that the heart is the most hardworking organ in the human body, for its smooth operation it requires enhanced nutrition and oxygen supply. Transportation to the myocardium of all the necessary elements occurs through two large cardiac arteries.

But for various reasons (they will be discussed below), there is a blockage of the coronary vessel, which can be:

• acute;
• chronic.

Acute occlusion of a coronary artery

It develops with complete blockage of the cardiac vessel, which provokes the cessation of myocardial nutrition. A complete disruption of the blood supply causes ischemia of the muscle layer and a violation of the conduction of the impulse. All symptoms develop quickly, within a few minutes.

If the patient is not provided with timely assistance, then necrosis of the bled area gradually develops, then a heart attack is diagnosed.

Chronic occlusion of a coronary artery

If the partial patency of the cardiac artery is preserved, then the blood supply to the myocardium occurs, but in a much smaller volume, the starvation of the muscle tissue is not so pronounced. Symptoms grow slowly: at first, people with incomplete blockage of the cardiac vessels can only feel discomfort behind the sternum, but gradually chronic cardiac insufficiency of blood flow leads to a change in the tissues of the myocardium.

What provokes a violation of the blood supply to the heart

The causes of a heart attack are not very diverse, they can be conditionally divided into 2 groups:

• mechanical;
• neurological.

Mechanical heart attacks

The causes of a heart attack are called mechanical, when there is a partial or complete overlap of the vascular lumen with a foreign body (thrombus, atherosclerotic plaque).

The provoking factors are:

1. Atherosclerosis.
2. Wrong nutrition.
3. Obesity.
4. Diseases of the blood, in which its viscosity increases.
5. Stagnation of blood flow in heart failure;
6. Hypertension.
7. Aneurysm of a large artery.
8. Endocrine pathologies (hyperthyroidism, diabetes).
9. Long-term use of hormone-containing drugs.
10. Physical inactivity.
11. Alcohol and smoking.

With a heart attack caused by mechanical factors, the symptoms can be acute or chronic.

neurological heart attacks

With them, the vascular bed is not closed by a foreign body, but a spasm of the coronary vessels occurs, in which the blood flow is partially or completely blocked.

Spasm can be provoked by:

• stress;
• strong emotions (fear, joy, grief);
• prolonged experiences.

Neurological signs of a heart attack are often observed in women with a hysteroid temperament. Most relatives, when a woman clutches her heart in hysterics, considers this a pretense, but in fact, at the moment of strong emotions, hysterics show pain.

Neurological factors in the treatment of the pathology that has arisen have a favorable prognosis, because it is enough to relax the cardiac arteries - and the patency of the vessels is restored. But they are no less dangerous and can also provoke acute coronary syndrome or a heart attack.

But emotions that can cause a strong spasm, provoking a complete cessation of activity, occur rarely and more often in males. For women, a chronic course with the occurrence of ischemia and angina pectoris is more characteristic.

Harbingers of a heart attack

Those who have ever experienced a feeling when coronary circulation insufficiency occurs, feel the first signs of a heart attack in a few days or even weeks. A person has a feeling that he will soon feel bad, but he cannot say when this can happen.

Forerunners include:

• dyspnea;
• discomfort and slight pain behind the sternum;
• tachycardia (rarely may be bradycardia);
• weakness;
• fast fatiguability;
• darkening in the eyes;
• sleep disorders;
• anxiety, sometimes panic attacks may develop;
• nausea and pain in the stomach (vomiting may appear, which does not bring relief to the person);
• heartburn (under heartburn in most cases, angina pectoris is masked);
• sweating (the most common harbinger of a heart attack in men);
• swelling of the legs;
• snoring (even previously non-snoring people begin to snore;
• heaviness in the legs.

If there is only 1 of the listed signs, then this is not a cause for concern, but if 2 or more, you should contact the clinic and make a cardiogram. An ECG will help determine if there is myocardial hypoxia and identify signs of impaired coronary circulation. Seeing a doctor early is one of the surest ways to prevent a heart attack and its severe consequences.

How does an acute heart attack manifest?

Acute symptoms of a heart attack, even if they arose for the first time, a person recognizes unmistakably.

The person feels:

• pressure, pain and burning behind the sternum;
• irradiation of pain in the left side of the neck, shoulder or arm;
• numbness of the limb on the left;
• a strong heartbeat (sometimes a feeling of fading of the heart caused by emerging extrasystoles can be added to the heartbeat);

• excessive sweating (men are more likely to suffer from excessive sweating);
• skin blanching;
• clouding of consciousness;
• feelings of panic and fear of death.

The exacerbation of chronic attacks proceeds almost the same way, only the symptoms that arise will be felt less acutely. But chronic attacks are no less dangerous, they can also cause heart attacks and other acute cardiac disorders.

The influence of gender on the development of pathological processes

With the development of heart attacks, the symptoms are almost the same for both sexes, while the course of pathological processes has a number of differences:

• In women of childbearing age, signs of myocardial starvation appear much later than in men. This is due to the fact that the female heart is able to withstand additional loads associated with bearing a child for a long time. After a woman's menopause, this difference disappears.
• The prognosis for older men is much better than for women after menopause. This is explained by the fact that the male heart contracts a little less often than the female one and works much more often during physical exertion.

• Cardiac blood flow disorders are common in young men, but in women with a healthy heart, they almost never happen. The hormonal background of the female body before menopause allows the heart to withstand high emotional stress associated with childbearing and raising a child.

Therefore, women after menopause are recommended to have regular examinations by a cardiologist, and men of all ages should not ignore the first signs of ill health.

How to help with a heart attack

The manifested symptoms of an acute attack frighten not only the patient, but others who do not know what to do and how to help.

But in an acute condition, delay can cost a person a life, a simple algorithm of actions that can be used both as an aid to the patient and as self-help, it is recommended that everyone know:

• Lay a person who has become ill on a flat surface, slightly raising his head. Call an ambulance. Some patients suffering from chronic seizures refuse medical care. But you should not listen to them, because perhaps this coronary disorder can lead to serious complications.
• After calling the doctors, loosen everything on the human body that prevents breathing (tie, belt, high collar). If the victim is indoors, then open a window or window, providing fresh air.

• Try to calm the person down. Even if this is not the first time this has happened and the patient is invigorated, claiming that everything will pass, he still experiences great fear.
• Give a Nitroglycerin tablet under the tongue. If the pain does not go away within 5 minutes, then you can give a second one.
• Simultaneously with Nitroglycerin, chew an Aspirin tablet. Even if the cause was a spasm of the coronary vessels, a temporary stagnation of blood flow can contribute to the appearance of a blood clot. Only first you need to find out if there is an allergy to Aspirin, and then give a pill.
• Do not drink or feed the person. Irritation of the stomach by food may exacerbate cardiac symptoms.

After all the measures taken, you need to wait for the arrival of the doctors and tell them what therapeutic measures have already been taken and how they affected the patient.

Preventive measures

It will probably surprise many to learn that preventing a heart attack is just a matter of giving up a few seemingly harmless habits:

• Evenings and weekends at the computer or in front of the TV. This is how most relax. But inactivity contributes to the stagnation of blood flow in small arteries and veins, provoking the formation of blood clots. In addition, hypodynamia disrupts the full-fledged metabolism in all tissues, including the myocardium.

• Snore. If all women are ashamed of their snoring, then most men consider it natural. But snoring causes breath holding. Sometimes up to several minutes, which means that the level of oxygen in the blood is greatly reduced, which affects the condition of tissues and organs.
• physical hyperactivity. Sometimes a person decides to drastically change his life, lose weight and go in for sports, starting to run for a long time or signing up for fitness. As a rule, such abrupt changes negatively affect the heart vessels and myocardium, which are not accustomed to heavy loads. If you want sports, it is better to start with walking and swimming.
• Binge eating. Thin people with an increased metabolism “sin” with this, believing that it is not harmful to them. But food is harmful not only for the figure, too much food eaten increases the load on the cardiovascular system.
• Red meat in the diet. This animal product (beef, pork) is adored by some women and most men. But red meat contains saturated fats, which contribute to the development of atherosclerosis. This product should be consumed in small quantities (no more than 10% of the total daily food intake).
• Neglect of vegetables and fruits. Someone just doesn’t like them, someone is too lazy to buy, but scientists have proven that if you eat 30 grams every day. vegetables or fruits, you can saturate the body with the necessary vitamins and improve the condition of blood vessels.