Treating A Heart Attack
Back to Heart DiseaseWhat is Heart Disease
There are many types of heart disease. About 25% of all Americans have one or more types of cardiovascular disease.The major types of heart disease are atherosclerosis, coronary, rheumatic, congenital, myocarditis, angina and arrhythmia.
Heart disease can arise from congenital defects, infection, narrowing of the coronary arteries, high blood pressure, or disturbances.
The first stages of heart disease are lesions and cracks forming in the blood vessel walls normally at the points of highest pressure or stress (near the heart). The second stage is the body trying to repair itself by depositing fatty substances (cholesterol, lipoproteins) inside the blood vessels to fill the cracks.
Over time, without the proper body nutrient, vitamin C, to help keep the blood vessel walls from cracking and requiring constant repair, these fatty substances can begin to build up and clog the blood vessels causing stroke and heart attack
A heart attack is also called a myocardial infarction or an MI. Myocardial refers to the myocardium, the heart muscle. Infarction is tissue death due to a local lack of oxygen
Click Here to learn more about Heart Disease - Heart Disease for Dummies
Myocardial Infarction - Heart Failure
A heart attack (also known as a myocardial infarction) is the death of heart muscle from the sudden blockage of a coronary artery by a blood clot. Coronary arteries are blood vessels that supply the heart muscle with blood and oxygen.Blockage of a coronary artery deprives the heart muscle of blood and oxygen,causing injury to the heart muscle. Injury to the heart muscle causes chest painand pressure.
If blood flow is not restored within 20 to 40 minutes,irreversible death of the heart muscle will begin to occur. Muscle then continues to die for 6-8 hours at which time the heart attack usually is "complete." The dead heart muscle is replaced by scar tissue.
What Causes a Heart Attack?
The most common cause of heart attack is the sudden blockage of one of the heart's arteries by a blood clot. These clots typically form in arteries that are already affected by atherosclerosis - that is, the arteries are narrowed by fatty deposits of plaque and other materials.Click Here to read the Seven Steps to a Healthy Heart
What causes heart failure?
Following are some common causes of heart failure.Coronary artery disease - Heart failure is closely associated with the major risk factors for coronary heart disease: smoking, high cholesterol levels, persistent high blood pressure, diabetic abnormal blood sugar levels and obesity. A single risk factor may be sufficient to cause heart failure, but a combination of factors dramatically increases the risk.
High blood pressure - Uncontrolled high blood pressure increases the risk of heart failure by 200 percent, compared with people who don't have hypertension. The degree of risk appears directly related to how severe the high blood pressure is.
Diabetes - People with diabetes have a two to eight times greater risk of heart failure compared to those without diabetes. Women with the condition have a greater risk of heart failure than men with diabetes. Part of the risk comes from the disease's association with other heart failure risk factors, such as high blood pressure, obesity, and high cholesterol levels. The disease process also damages the heart muscle.
Heart valve problems - Some people are born with or develop problems with these flap-like structures that help regulate blood flow through the heart.
Heart attack damage - A heart attack can leave the heart muscle damaged and this, in turn, can cause heart failure.
Genetic abnormalities - People can be born with valve problems, other birth defects, or diseases called cardiomyopathies that can cause damage to the heart muscle and resulting heart failure. With cardiomyopathy, the heart loses its ability to pump blood. Usually, the exact cause of the muscle damage is never found.
Heart Disease Prevention and Cure
Some forms of heart disease can be prevented.To prevent coronary heart disease, one must exercise consistently, have a low salt and low fat diet, restrain from smoking and lose a couple of pounds if overweight.
Healthy diets also help prevent heart disease
Click Here to get the Home-use total cholesterol test
Treating a Heart Attack - CPR and others
Early heart attack deaths can be avoided if a bystander starts CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) within five minutes of the onset of ventricular fibrillation. CPR involves breathing for the victim and applying external chest compression to make the heart pump.When paramedics arrive, medications and/or electrical shock (cardioversion) to the heart can be administered to convert ventricular fibrillation to a normal heart rhythm. Therefore, prompt CPR and rapid paramedic response can improve the survival chances from a heart attack.
The treatment of a heart attack may include the prompt administration of drugs to dissolve and prevent blood clots; an angioplasty or intracoronary stenting to open an obstructed artery; and medications that open (dilate) blood vessels.
Early reopening of a blocked coronary artery reduces the amount of heart muscle damage, lessens the size of the heart attack, and improves prognosis. Patients suffering a heart attack are usually hospitalized for several days to detect heart rhythm disturbance, and observe for shortness of breath and chest pain.
Y! Health Heart & Vascular Health News
- Cancer to Surpass Heart Disease as World's Leading Killer (HealthDay)
HealthDay - TUESDAY, Dec. 9 (HealthDay News) -- By 2010, cancer will be the leading killer in the world, surpassing heart disease, causing more deaths than AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis combined. - Cancer to pass heart disease as No. 1 killer (Reuters)
Reuters - Cancer is on pace to supplant heart disease as the No. 1 cause of death worldwide in 2010, with a growing burden in poor countries thanks to more cigarette smoking and other factors, global health experts said on Tuesday. - Women's Death Rate Higher From Severe Heart Attack (HealthDay)
HealthDay - MONDAY, Dec. 8 (HealthDay News) -- Women who suffer the most severe form of heart attack are twice as likely as men to die in the hospital, a new study finds. - Study: Gender gap remains for heart attack care (AP)
AP - Women hospitalized with heart attacks still don't get the treatment they need and are more likely to die than men if they suffer a massive heart attack, a new study of U.S. hospitals shows. - Heart attack patients get 'big chill' treatment (AP)
AP - It took five mighty shocks to get Cynthia Crawford's heart to start beating again after she collapsed at Ochsner Clinic a few weeks ago. - Rapid Response Teams Don't Cut Hospital Heart Attacks, Death
Rates (HealthDay)
HealthDay - TUESDAY, Dec. 2 (HealthDay News) -- Hospital rapid response teams, created to prevent cardiac arrest and deaths in critically ill patients, do not seem to work, a new study finds. - Gene "silencing" drug blocks heart disease in mice (Reuters)
Reuters - An international research team has identified a tiny piece of genetic material that plays a key role in heart failure, and shown how an experimental compound prevents the condition in mice, scientists reported on Sunday. - Treating depression seen important in heart failure (Reuters)
Reuters - Depression increases the risk of death in patients with heart failure, but the risk apparently disappears with antidepressant use, according to a study. - Bad Bosses Are Hard on the Heart (HealthDay)
HealthDay - TUESDAY, Nov. 25 (HealthDay News) -- Burdened by an overbearing boss? Your heart may pay the price, according to new research. - Depression's Behavior Changes Linked to Heart Risks (HealthDay)
HealthDay - TUESDAY, Nov. 25 (HealthDay News) -- Negative changes in health behaviors are a major reason why heart patients with depression have an increased risk of cardiovascular events such as heart attack, say U.S. researchers who followed 1,017 outpatients with stable coronary heart disease for an average of 4.8 years.
Want to find out more? - Search Here
Want your own web site and a FREE domain name - Click here - From $9.90 per month plus FREE domain name.
Read other health related sites
Prescription drugs and Tramadol Buy cheap Tramadol from Pharmacy CenterPlease read our Disclaimer
This site does not provide medical or any other health care advice, diagnosis or treatment. The site and its services, including the information above, are for informational purposes only and are not a substitute for professional medical advice, examination, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health professional before starting any new treatment or making any changes to existing treatment. Do not delay seeking or disregard medical advice based on information on this site. Medical information changes rapidly and while we make efforts to update the content on the site, some information may be out of date. The information should not be used to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease without the supervision of a medical doctor.LINK EXCHANGE: Interested in having your website link here?
