Heart Attack: Causes and Treatment
A heart attack, also called a myocardial infarction, happens when a part of the heart muscle doesn't get enough blood. The more time that passes without treatment to restore blood flow, the greater the damage to the heart muscle. Coronary artery disease (CAD) is the main cause of heart attack.
A heart attack happens when something blocks the blood flow to your heart so it can’t get the oxygen it needs.
Your heart muscle needs a constant supply of oxygen-rich blood. Your coronary arteries give your heart this critical blood supply. If you have coronary arterydisease, those arteries become narrow, and blood can’t flow as well as it should. When your blood supply is blocked, you have a heart attack.
Fat, calcium, proteins, and inflammatory cells build up in your arteries to form plaques. These plaque deposits are hard on the outside and soft and mushy on the inside.
When the plaque is hard, the outer shell cracks. This is called a rupture. Platelets (disc-shaped things in your blood that help it clot) come to the area, and blood clots form around the plaque. If a blood clot blocks your artery, your heart muscle becomes starved for oxygen. The muscle cells soon die, causing permanent damage.
1.Control your blood pressure
Lowering Your Blood Pressure Can Prevent Heart Attacks, Strokes & Kidney Failure
Blood pressure is the force of your blood pushing against the walls of your arteries. Each time your heart beats, it pumps blood into the arteries. Your blood pressure is highest when your heart beats, pumping the blood. This is called systolic pressure. When your heart is at rest, between beats, your blood pressure falls. This is called diastolic pressure.
High blood pressure is a major risk factor for heart disease. It is important to get your blood pressure checked regularly - at least once a year for most adults, and more often if you have high blood pressure. Take steps, including lifestyle changes, to prevent or control high blood pressure.
2.Regular checks of your cholesterol
High levels of cholesterol can clog your arteries and raise your risk of coronary artery disease and heart attack. Lifestyle changes and medicines (if needed) can lower your cholesterol.
Total cholesterol less than 200 mg/dl. LDL cholesterol should be less than 70 mg/dl for those with heart or blood vessel disease. LDL should be less than 100 mg/dl for those who have a high risk of cardiovascular disease, such as some patients with diabetes or those who have multiple heart disease risk factors.
Cholesterol helps your body build new cells, insulate nerves, and produce hormones. Normally, the liver makes all the cholesterol the body needs. But cholesterol also enters your body from food, such as animal-based foods like milk, eggs, and meat. Too much cholesterol in your body is a risk factor for heart disease.
When there is too much cholesterol in your blood, it builds up in the walls of your arteries, causing a process called atherosclerosis, a form of heart disease. The arteries become narrowed and blood flow to the heart muscle is slowed down or blocked. The blood carries oxygen to the heart, and if not enough blood and oxygen reach your heart, you may suffer chest pain. If the blood supply to a portion of the heart is completely cut off by a blockage, the result is a heart attack.
3.Control stress
Stress is a normal part of life. Stress can come from physical causes like not getting enough sleep or having an illness. Another cause for stress can be emotional, like worrying about not having enough money or the death of a loved one. Stress can also come from less dramatic causes, like everyday obligations and pressures, that make you feel that you're not in control.
Your body’s response to stress is supposed to protect you. But, if it's constant, it can harm you. The hormone cortisol is released in response to stress. Studies suggest that the high levels of cortisol from long-term stress can increase blood cholesterol, triglycerides, blood sugar, and blood pressure. These are common risk factors for heart disease. This stress can also cause changes that promote the buildup of plaque deposits in the arteries.
Stress is linked to heart disease in many ways. It can raise your blood pressure. Extreme stress can be a "trigger" for a heart attack. Also, some common ways of coping with stress, such as overeating, heavy drinking, and smoking, are bad for your heart. Some ways to help manage your stress include exercise, listening to music, focusing on something calm or peaceful, and meditating.
4.Manage healthy weight
It’s long been known that when you’re overweight, you’re more apt to develop conditions like high blood pressure or diabetes that can lead to heart disease.
Optimal body weight for the prevention of coronary heart disease in normal-weight physically active men.
Being overweight or having obesity can increase your risk for heart disease. This is mostly because they are linked to other heart disease risk factors, including high blood cholesterol and triglyceride levels, high blood pressure, and diabetes. Controlling your weight can lower these risks.
Stay at a healthy weight for you. Lose weight if you’re overweight or obese. Start by eating fewer calories and moving more. You can check your body mass index (BMI). If you need help, talk to your health care team about a weight loss plan.
5.Take healthy diet
Center your eating plan around vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, nuts, plant-based proteins, lean animal proteins and fish. Make smart choices like limiting refined carbohydrates, processed meats and sweetened drinks. Use the nutrition facts label on packaged foods to cut back on sodium, added sugars and saturated fats, and avoid trans fat.
Choose foods low in saturated fat, trans fat, and sodium. As part of a healthy diet, eat plenty of fruits and vegetables, fiber-rich whole grains, fish (preferably oily fish-at least twice per week), nuts, legumes and seeds and try eating some meals without meat. Select lower fat dairy products and poultry.
6.Get regular exercise
Physical Activity Helps Prevent a Heart Attack and Stroke
Being more active doesn't have to be hard. Any activity that raises your heart rate can help your heart. Do something you enjoy, such as walking, cycling, swimming, or dancing.
To get and stay healthy, do activity at a level that is right for you—moderate or vigorous. Try to do:
· Moderate activity for at least 2½ hours a week. One way to do this is to be active 30 minutes a day, at least 5 days a week. Moderate activity means things like brisk walking, brisk cycling, or ballroom dancing. But any activities—including daily chores—that raise your heart rate can be included. You notice your heart beating faster with this kind of activity.
· Vigorous activity for at least 1¼ hours a week. One way to do this is to be active 25 minutes a day, at least 3 days a week. Vigorous activity means things like jogging, fast cycling, or cross-country skiing. You breathe rapidly and your heart beats much faster with this kind of activity.
To lower your risk, be active for longer than 10 minutes at a time. Try to do aerobic activity for an average of 40 minutes. Try to do this at least 3 or 4 times a week.footnote2 Aerobic exercise (brisk walking, jogging, swimming, bicycling) is best.
Being active and doing regular exercise will lower your blood pressure by keeping your heart and blood vessels in good condition. Regular exercise can also help you lose weight, which will help to lower your blood pressure.
Low-impact activities such as walking, swimming and cycling are recommended. More strenuous activities, such as playing football and squash, may not be suitable for you. Check with the doctor in charge of your care.
7.Limit alcohol.
Drinking too much alcohol can raise your blood pressure. It also adds extra calories, which may cause weight gain. Both of those raise your risk of heart disease. Men should have no more than two alcoholic drinks per day, and women should not have more than one.
Avoid binge drinking, which is drinking lots of alcohol in a short space of time or drinking to get drunk.
Binge drinking can cause a sudden and large rise in your blood pressure, which could be potentially dangerous.
Research has found people who have had a heart attack and continue to binge drink are twice as likely to die from a serious health condition, such as another heart attack or stroke, compared with people who moderate their drinking after having a heart attack.
8.Get enough sleep
Getting the Right Amount of Sleep Linked to 42% Lower Risk of Heart Failure. A new study finds that adults with the healthiest sleep patterns have a 42 percent lower risk of heart failure, regardless of other risk factors, compared to those with a less healthy sleep routine
A new study finds that adults with the healthiest sleep patterns have a 42 percent lower risk of heart failure, regardless of other risk factors, compared to those with a less healthy sleep routine.
After researchers adjusted for medical conditions that included diabetes, high blood pressure, and medication use, they found that participants with the healthiest sleep habits experienced a 42 percent reduction in their risk of heart failure compared to those with less healthy sleep patterns.
Comments
Post a Comment