Overview
When a heart attack occurs, it is limiting the supply of blood to the heart muscle, which in response is slowly damaging the heart. This blood supply limit is caused when there is a blockage in the coronary artery. When a person first shows signs of a heart attack they must get immediate medical assistance; the sooner they are given the treatment, the less damage that is going to occur.
How to tell you are having a heart attack
There are several symptoms that are commonly known as being associated with a heart attack. These are:
- Feeling light headed
- Chest discomfort often described as heavy pressure or tightness that is causing pain
- The discomfort may also be felt in the neck, shoulders, arm, jaw or throat
- Shortness of breath
- Cold sweats
- Feeling very tired
These symptoms can be long lasting, start and stop suddenly, and every repetitive. The key is that these symptoms are going to last longer than ten minutes when you are suffering from a heart attack.
Risk factors
There are several risk factors that can increase your chances of having an attack. These risk factors include:
- Smoking
- Your age
- An unhealthy diet
- No physical activity
- Being overweight
- Having high cholesterol
- Having high blood pressure
- Diabetes
- Heart disease
- History of heart diseases in family
Complications
When there is a heart attack, there are several complications that an arise. These include:
- Having an abnormal heart rhythm
- Failure of the heart
- Inflammation around the heart
- Problems with the heart valve
These complications can be immediate or sometime after the attack happens.
After an attack
A heart attack always leads to some long-lasting injury to your muscle that surrounds the heart, but the quicker you get treatment, the better it will be for your heart.
If a heart attack injures a substantial portion of your heart muscle, this can affect the inflating and deflating action of your heart. This is better known as heart failure. Also, some individuals continue to get angina even after treatment, because the coronary arteries are still constricting.
Prevention
Living a healthy life can help stop you from experiencing a heart attack.
If you previously suffered a heart attack you can radically decrease the possibility of having another heart attack and forthcoming heart problems by leading a healthy lifestyle and taking your medications.
If you are above the age of 40 you must ask your GP to evaluate your possibility of getting a heart attack in the next 10 years.
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FACT CHECK
https://www.healthline.com/health/heart-attack