A heart attack, also known as myocardial infarction, is a condition when the blood flow to your heart is disrupted. It often occurs when plaque build-up occurs inside your arteries. The cholesterol, fats, and other substances deposit inside the arteries, which leads to the formation of the platelet plug, eventually leading to the disrupted blood supply.
Your blood carries oxygen to different parts of the body so that they can survive
When your organs do not get oxygen, the cells die, and the organ functioning is affected badly. Therefore when your heart does not get blood due to clot formation, it does not get oxygen too, hence the heart tissues start to die.
Heart attacks need to be treated as soon as possible. Therefore if you have any symptoms of a heart attack, you should visit the emergency as soon as possible. Delaying the visit to the hospital can lead to fatal consequences.
If you are diagnosed with heart disease, you should attend your regular follow-up visits with the healthcare provider. For an expert opinion, you should visit an Internal Medicine specialist in Lahore.
What Are The Symptoms of Heart Attack?
The common symptoms of heart attack are:
- A feeling of pressure in the chest
- Chest tightness
- Pain in the chest
- Chest pain that radiates to the left arm, jaw, and back of the arm
- Nausea and indigestion
- Heartburn
- Abdominal pain
- Cold sweat
- Fatigue
- Shortness of breath
- Lightheadedness
- Dizziness
The symptoms of a heart attack may vary sometimes from person to person. Not everybody has the same symptoms. Some people may have mild chest pain, whereas some may have only jaw pain. The pain intensity also varies with the degree of heart block that occurs.
What are The Risk Factors for a Heart Attack?
Various factors can lead to atherosclerosis- plaque build-up in your artery.
Some of them are:
Age
Women above the age of 55 and men over the age of 45 are at risk of getting heart attacks compared to those who are young.
Smoking
Smoking cigarettes can increase the risk of a heart attack. Moreover, getting exposed to secondhand smoke can also put you at risk of clotting inside the arteries.
Hypertension
Hypertension or high blood pressure is a condition when your blood pressure remains higher than normal. When it occurs due to other conditions such as obesity, diabetes, or high blood cholesterol levels, it increases the risk of heart attack even more.
High Blood Cholesterol or High Triglycerides
When your cholesterol and triglyceride levels are high in the blood, they can accumulate in your arteries, which can lead to a heart attack. The higher the levels of cholesterol and triglycerides are in your blood, the higher the chances of heart attack are for you. However, a daily workout and a healthy diet can help lower high blood cholesterol and high triglyceride levels.
Obesity
Being obese according to the body mass index can increase the risk of heart attack for you. However, it is not necessary that only obese people will get a heart attack. Sometimes thin people also get it. But obesity can put you at risk of it.
Diabetes
Diabetes is a condition when your blood glucose levels remain high. It can occur when your pancreas does not secrete insulin, or your receptors become insensitive to it. However, diabetes can increase the risk of heart diseases many times. Therefore if you have diabetes, you need to take extra care of your heart health.
Family history
Having a family history of heart attack can put you at risk for you too.
The Bottom Line
You should visit the healthcare provider frequently for screening and management of heart disease especially if you are at risk of it. People above the age of 50 should visit the healthcare provider frequently. If you are at risk of developing heart disease, you can consult with Internal Medicine Specialist in Islamabad.
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