Coronary Artery Disease

Heart attack is a critical medical emergency that affects millions of people worldwide every year, with approximately half of them tragically losing their lives. Delay in seeking immediate assistance can lead to permanent heart damage or even fatalities. Recognizing the signs and symptoms of a heart attack is crucial for prevention.

Heart Attack Warning Signs

Chest Pain is always considered a medical emergency. In addition to Heart Attacks, other life-threatening causes of Chest Pain include Pulmonary Embolus (blood clot in the lung) and aortic dissection or tear.

While some heart attacks are sudden and intense, like the "movie heart attack" where the symptoms are unmistakable, most begin gradually with mild pain or discomfort. Unfortunately, people experiencing these initial symptoms often delay seeking help. Here are signs that indicate a heart attack may be happening:

• Chest discomfort: Most heart attacks involve discomfort in the center of the chest that lasts more than a few minutes, or it may come and go. This discomfort can manifest as uncomfortable pressure, squeezing, fullness, or pain.

• Discomfort in other areas of the upper body: This may include pain or discomfort in one or both arms, the back, neck, jaw, or stomach.

• Shortness of breath with or without chest discomfort.

• Additional signs may involve breaking out in a cold sweat, nausea, or lightheadedness.

For women, the most common heart attack symptom is chest pain or discomfort. However, women are more likely than men to experience other common symptoms, particularly shortness of breath, nausea/vomiting, and back or jaw pain.

Remember that even if you're uncertain whether it's a heart attack, you should seek medical attention without delay. Time is of the essence, and fast action can save lives, perhaps your own. Do not wait for more than five minutes to call for emergency assistance.

Calling emergency services is almost always the quickest way to receive life-saving treatment. Emergency medical personnel can initiate treatment upon arrival, potentially up to an hour earlier than if someone were to reach the hospital by car. They are also trained to revive individuals with a stopped heart. Patients with chest pain who arrive by ambulance generally receive more rapid treatment at the hospital.

Healthcare professionals in the Emergency Department take chest pain very seriously. Seeking care for chest pain is crucial. Many people lose their lives because they ignore their symptoms out of fear. It's better to seek care if you're uncertain about your symptoms related to heart disease than to risk a tragic outcome. If you cannot access emergency medical services (EMS), have someone transport you to the hospital immediately. If you are the one experiencing symptoms, do not attempt to drive yourself, unless there is absolutely no other option.

  Cardiac arrest strikes immediately and without warning. Here are the signs:

• Sudden loss of responsiveness (no response to tapping on shoulders).

• No normal breathing (the victim does not take a normal breath when you tilt the head up and check for at least five seconds).

If these signs of cardiac arrest are present, instruct someone to call emergency and retrieve an AED (if available) while you initiate CPR immediately.

If you are alone with an adult who displays these signs of cardiac arrest, call emergency and obtain an AED (if available) before commencing CPR. Utilize the AED as soon as it is accessible.

  Self-Care at Home

The first step to take when chest pain occurs is to call emergency and activate the Emergency Medical System. First responders, EMTs, and paramedics can begin treating a heart attack en route to the hospital. They can also alert the Emergency Department that the patient is on the way and address some of the complications of a heart attack should they arise.

Step two is to take an aspirin. Aspirin reduces platelet stickiness and can minimize blood clot formation, potentially preventing further artery blockage. If you have nitroglycerine spray, sorbitrate, or angised and are a known case of angina or coronary artery disease, take it under your tongue as prescribed by your doctor and wait for symptoms to subside.

Step three is to rest. When the body engages in physical activity, the heart must work harder to supply oxygen to the muscles and remove waste products. If the heart's function is limited due to inadequate blood supply, pushing it to do more work may lead to additional damage and increased risk of complications.

  Follow-up

Regular follow-up visits with your healthcare provider are essential. Heart attacks are a chronic, long-term, and relentlessly progressive disease.

Reducing risk factors may only slow its progression.

Even angioplasty or bypass surgery only reduces the severity of the disease. It does not provide a cure. The condition often recurs and worsens, necessitating further treatment, particularly for individuals with a history of heart attacks, especially if abnormal risk factors remain uncorrected. Your healthcare provider will typically monitor you for the following conditions:

Monitoring new symptoms or signs of disease progression through periodic physical exams and ECGs or stress tests.

Assessing silent ischemia through periodic treadmill or radionuclide stress tests or stress echocardiography. Your healthcare provider will also track your progress in reducing risk and evaluate the effectiveness of treatment. Keeping tabs on your own health metrics is vital. This is your life. Checking your weight and activity levels.

Monitoring blood lipid levels, including assessing the levels of the bad LDL, the good HDL, and triglycerides. Elevated triglycerides are common in overweight patients, especially those with diabetes. LDL levels should ideally be below 100.

Assessing blood pressure, which should be below 130/80 mm Hg. If you are diabetic, evaluating your blood sugar and aiming for an A1C level below 7.0%.

Tracking your progress in quitting smoking. Your healthcare provider will monitor the effectiveness of your medications, making necessary adjustments. Any side effects of medications will also be closely monitored and addressed as needed.

  Prevention

Diet

Smoking

Diabetes

High blood pressure

Obesity

Inactivity

Emotional stress

High total cholesterol: Know your total cholesterol level and take measures to control it with diet and exercise if your levels are high. Your health care provider will check your levels and compare them with guidelines from the National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP). Your total cholesterol levels are measured in your blood after a 9- to 12-hour fast. The following subtypes of cholesterol are important:

  LDL cholesterol

  Less than 100 - Optimal

  100-129 - Near optimal/above optimal

  130-159 - Borderline high

  160-189 - High

  190 or higher - Very high

  Total cholesterol

  Less than 200 - Desirable

  201-239 - Borderline high

  240 or higher - High

  HDL cholesterol (the good cholesterol)

  Less than 40 - Low 60 or higher - High (desirable)

Diet : A balanced, low-fat diet is good not just for people with high cholesterol but for everyone.

The American Heart Association recommends that maximum calories from fat be less than 30% of total calories in any meal.

Each day, try to eat 6-8 servings of bread, cereal, or rice; 2-4 servings of fresh fruit; 3-5 servings of fresh or frozen vegetables; 2-3 servings of nonfat milk, yogurt, or cheese; and 2-3 servings of lean meat, poultry, fish, or dry beans.

Use olive or canola oils for cooking. These oils contain monounsaturated fats known to lower cholesterol.

Eat 2 servings of fish each week. Eat fish such as salmon, mackerel, lake trout, herring, sardines, and albacore tuna. All of these fish are high in omega-3 fatty acids, which lower levels of certain fats in the blood and help prevent irregular heartbeats and blood clots that cause heart attacks.

Research suggests that alcohol can help protect against coronary heart disease, but limit your intake to 1-2 drinks per day. Higher amounts can increase blood pressure, cause heart rhythm disorders (arrhythmias), and damage your heart muscle and liver directly.

Avoiding fast food may not be pleasant or convenient, but it may provide significant benefit in the long run.

Smoking: Quitting smoking is the single best change you can make. Quitting can be difficult, so seek your health care provider's help.

Passive smoking (breathing in tobacco smoke), smoking cigars, or chewing tobacco are equally dangerous to your health. Physical inactivity:

Exercise helps to lower your blood pressure, increase your level of good cholesterol ( HDL), and control your weight.

Try to complete an endurance exercise of at least 30 minutes, 3-5 times a week. But just brisk walking alone will improve cardiovascular survival. Exercise can include walking, swimming, biking, or aerobics. Before beginning an exercise program, talk to your health care provider.

Obesity: Excess weight puts extra strain on your heart and blood vessels by increasing blood pressure, plus frequently associated with diabetes, high cholesterol and triglycerides, and low HDL.

A high-fiber, low-fat diet and regular exercise can help you lose weight and keep it off. Fad diet programs may be unsafe. Seek your health care provider's advice before starting any weight loss program. Don't rely on drugs to lose weight. Certain medicines used for weight loss—for example,

Fen-Phen—have been associated with dangerous heart valve damage and other serious medical conditions in some users.

High blood pressure: If you have high blood pressure, your health care provider should treat it aggressively.

Proper diet, low salt intake, regular exercise, reduction in alcohol intake, and weight reduction are of paramount importance.

If your health care provider prescribes medications, take them faithfully.

Diabetes: Diabetes causes blockage and hardening ( atherosclerosis) of blood vessels everywhere in the body, including coronary arteries. Controlling diabetes significantly reduces coronary risk.

Viagra and coronary heart disease: If you intend to use sildenafil (Viagra) for erectile dysfunction, contact your doctor to make sure it is safe for you.

If you have a significant coronary blockage, angina or heart attack may occur with use of Viagra.

Also, you must avoid taking nitroglycerin in any form—pill, patch, or spray—within 48 hours of taking Viagra. Using Viagra with nitroglycerin may cause dangerously low blood pressure.

  Ways to prevent it