A heart attack is one of those conditions that make its presence silently and it can be fatal if the patient is derived from a medical aid within the first few hours. Longer you wait for medical treatment, more severe the condition becomes. It is important to understand the signs of heart attack and remain alert to lessen the risk of this problem. Right information and prompt action make a difference in an effort to survive a heart attack or heart failure.
What heart attack is all about?
In medical term, myocardial infarction (MI) is known as Heart Attack. This condition is actually a severe form of an acute coronary syndrome (ACS) which is triggered by the breakage of an atherosclerotic plaque within a coronary artery. When this breakage takes place, it causes a blood clot, leading to blockage of the artery. Furthermore, the blockage of artery disturbs the supply of oxygen to the heart and it begins to affect other heart muscles. The signs of heart attack are not so obvious in most cases but you can identify some symptoms like chest pain, discomfort and breathing shortness are a precursor of this condition.
The danger of heart attack:
The intensity or severity of a heart attack depends on how much heart muscles are damaged due to the blockage in the arteries leading to the heart. A blockage in the origin of an artery can rapidly affect more of the heart muscle and leads the damage of other arteries in the same way. The first few hours of the attack are very crucial for the survival of the patients, as you have to prevent the damage of heart muscle as soon as possible. The dying heart muscle can pose the risk of acute chest pain leading to the condition of a heart attack within hours. On average, if the blockage persists for five hours, it will subsequently damage more heart muscle making the condition more severe. In this condition, the life of a patient is difficult to save. In other words, acute heart failure is followed by heart muscle damage. The intensity of a heart attack is largely dependent upon the degree of injury sustained by the heart muscle. One can defy the risks of heart failure by identifying some possible signs of a heart attack.
Recognize the possible symptoms of heart attack:
Recognizing the signs of a heart attack can certainly help you in getting the medical aid required at a critical time. The rapid administration of medical care in the case of a heart attack is important and if you are familiar with these symptoms, it will help you avert the severity of an attack.
Also Read: Ways to Lower the Risk of a Heart Attack or Stroke
The most probable sign of heart attack is chest pain. The other symptoms that you might experience include:
- Unexplained shortness of breath
- Persistent sweating
- Recurring body pain
- Persistent pain in of the neck, jaw, back, shoulders, and arms
- Nausea or vomiting
- Lightheadedness
- Heartburn
- Anxiety, indigestion
- A sense of fatigue
If you have any of these symptoms, you have to be watchful for the possible incident of a heart attack. Remember these signs of heart attack are not as severe in their impact as they seem to be, and we can mitigate the severity of this problem by taking some quick steps.
How to survive a possible heart attack:
The best way to deal with a heart attack is to identify the signs of this problem like acute check pain, and have proximity to the medical treatment. You should have emergency medical services so that quick medical aid can be given to a patient. An attendant should give chest push up to the person who is in the unconscious state.
