Know facts about heart attack
The word heart attack makes most hearts skip a beat, but it is important to know that about half the heart attacks being preventable or treatable if taken to the hospital in time. You could sure avoid missing a heart beat if we understood that heart is one of the most important and largest muscle in the human body, with the heart helping in breathing and carrying the blood that contains oxygen to all parts of the body.
It is to be noted that if we could detect the shortage of oxygen that causes the cells in the heart to die we can easily save a person from carrying severe lifelong unpleasant consequences or death.
Known in medical terms as acute myocardial infarction, it is best to realize that all organs of our body require oxygenated blood to stay alive and carry on its functions, with the muscle that forms the wall of heart being no exception. The heart is able to get its supply of oxygen from the coronary arteries.
However it is important to know that this sometimes becomes impossible or difficult due to the deposit of fats or plaque in the inner walls of the coronary arteries. You would surely have realized that this deposit leads to the narrowing of these arteries that play the role of reducing the blood supply to the heart that brings about a shortage.
Popularly known as atherosclerosis, it is significant to note that most heart attacks are brought about by the rupture of the artery with the atherosclerotic plaque lining. This leads to the clotting of blood on the artery that is damaged and then leads to full or partial obstruction of the blood supply, with severe blockages leading to heart attack and pre-heart attack symptoms.
This could cause the heart muscle to die, however in very rare cases it is seen that a spasm in the coronary artery could also cause stoppage of blood to even healthy coronary arteries. The cause for these rare cases of heart attack may hardly be identified easily.
It is again significant to note that heart attack could affect different people in different ways, with symptoms varying in most cases. It is true that experiencing a sharp and shooting pain that goes unto the knees may not be experienced in all persons.
It is however significant to note that most people that get heart attacks do show some pre-heart attack symptoms some days before the attack. The most common symptom could be a chest pain that results from ischemia or the heart muscle is not getting adequate oxygen supply. There could also be some breathlessness and fatigue, with angina getting worse as the heart attack approaches.
Notice symptoms of pre heart attack
The first important symptom that you would notice as a pre heart attack symptom is that you would feel a pain and discomfort in your chest. It is important to understand that this discomfort is usually felt in the middle of the chest and could last for a few minutes or a longer time.
It is also possible that this pain comes and goes away at regular intervals. This pain could not only feel very uncomfortable, but could also seem like there is some fullness and pressure in the chest. These symptoms could vary in every individual case and you would find that this pain and discomfort passes on to other parts of the body like the shoulders, back, neck or jaw.
In addition pre heart attack symptoms could show up as extreme fatigue, cold sweat, nausea and light-headedness that could be without any other apparent reason. It is good to realize here that most heart attacks are caused either by hypertension, cardiovascular disease, defect in the heart, and heart disease, so the need for the heart to work harder leads to these symptoms.
Along with the need for the heart to work harder, it is also deprived of efficient blood and oxygen supply that eventually takes over and makes one feel tired and exhausted.
Next it is important to note that not all heart attacks are severe, with some being mistaken for heart burn or angina. However it is best to know that it may be very difficult to distinguish a heart burn from a heart attack. So it is quite possible that you may use antacids and belching or nitroglycerin sprays or pills to relieve heart attack pain thinking it is a heart burn or angina, but there could be only temporary or no relief at all.
It is good to note here that indigestion of a recurrent nature could itself be a pre heart attack symptom. If the discomfort seems different or worse it is best to seek prompt medical help.
You could be almost sure that you would get a heart attack when you have symptoms of pre heart attack in the form of respiratory disturbances that shows up as an uninitiated shortness of breath that is not caused by overexertion and could go off immediately or extend for a period of time. Disruption in sleep with periods of sleeplessness or restlessness could be one of the predominant pre heart attack symptoms that could show up even a few weeks or months before the heart attack.
As a last note, knowing symptoms of pre heart attack would help be cautious to take prompt action when you may get a heart attack.