A heart attack is the death of a segment of heart muscle caused by a loss of blood supply. The blood is usually cut off when an artery supplying the heart muscle is blocked by a blood clot.
What are the causes of a heart attack?
While previously only smoking and cholesterol were considered as causes for heart attacks, today, the various causes also include:
- Smoking
- Abnormal cholesterol
- Diabetes
- High blood pressure
- Stress
- Abdominal obesity
- Sedentary lifestyle
- Eating too few fruits and vegetables
- Abstaining from alcohol
What organs are affected?
The heart, as well as the chest, are affected during a heart attack
Symptoms
The symptoms of a heart attack occurring are as follows:
- The following are other possible signs and symptoms of a heart attack occurring:
- coughing
- nausea
- vomiting
- crushing chest pain
- dizziness
- shortness of breath called dyspnea
- face seeming gray in color
- a feeling of terror that life is ending
- feeling awful, generally
- restlessness
- feeling clammy and sweaty
- shortness of breath
Prevention/Treatment
Preventive measures:
- not smoking
- eating a balanced, healthful diet
- getting plenty of exercises
- getting plenty of good quality sleep
- keeping diabetes under control
- keeping alcohol intake down
- maintaining blood cholesterol at optimum levels
- keeping blood pressure at a safe level
- maintaining a healthy body weight
- avoiding stress where possible
- learning how to manage stress
Treatment:
During: manual chest compressions, a defibrillator
Post: aspirin and other antiplatelets, beta-blockers, ACE (angiotensin-converting enzyme) inhibitors, statins, angioplasty, CABG or coronary artery bypass graft.
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