Heart Attack Warning Signs

Heart Attack Warning Signs

A heart attack happens when the heart does not get enough blood flow. During a heart attack, heart muscle can be permanently damaged. Many people think a heart attack is sudden, like a “movie” heart attack, where someone clutches her chest and falls over.

But the truth is that many heart attacks start slowly as mild pain or discomfort. These feelings may even come and go. For both women and men, the most common sign of a heart attack is pain or discomfort in the center of the chest. The pain or discomfort can be mild or strong. The discomfort may be constant or it may come and go over several minutes.


For women, though, chest pain may not be the first sign that your heart is in trouble. Before a heart attack, women have reported unusual tiredness, trouble sleeping, heartburn, a cough, heart flutters, or loss of appetite.

These are symptoms that could mean a heart attack is happening:

• Chest discomfort. Most heart attacks involve discomfort in the center of the chest that lasts more than a few minutes, or that goes away and comes back. It can feel like uncomfortable pressure, squeezing, fullness, or pain.

• Discomfort in other areas of the upper body. Symptoms can include pain or discomfort in one or both arms, the back, neck, jaw, or stomach.

• Shortness of breath. This may occur with or without chest discomfort.
• Other signs. These may include breaking out in a cold sweat, nausea, or lightheadedness.

Get help right away
If you have signs of a heart attack or stroke, call 911. Call right away — in 5 minutes or less. 

Heart Attack Treatment

Heart Attack Treatment
By Catherine Moore

Heart attack treatment has remained a common talk of the world as there is overall belief that no healthcare delivery facility is ideal for proper management of heart attacks. The good news is that heart attack treatment and prevention are available to people who are ready to adhere to certain precautionary measures.

1) Quit smoking: 

This is the single most important element in heart disease treatment and prevention. All over the world, tobacco producers are sweating because of policies against them. The World Health Organization has done everything to protect people from this danger but because life is a choice, they leave the individuals to make their decisions.


2) Control your Blood Sugar, Blood Pressure and weight: 

As heart disease treatment and prevention methods, these three relatives of heart diseases must be put on check. Much has been said about them. You need not worry yourself if you control these elements because heart disease does not usually occur without a risk factor.

3) Exercise your body: 

As heart attack treatment and prevention, mild to moderate exercise promotes good blood circulation, prevents clotting as well as other benefits that reduce the effects of other risk factors of heart disease.

4) Eat a healthy diet: 

For heart attack treatment and prevention, Cutting down on foods that are high in saturated fat and sodium (salt) to lower cholesterol and blood pressure is very important. Take more vitamins and anti-oxidants.

Strict adherence to the above factors aid in the treatment and prevention of heart diseases.

Heart Attack Causes

The heart attack is known as myocardial infarction was known as an abrupt and fatal condition in thepast. Nowadays, better understanding of such a condition has given more light to the condition.   

So what are the actual heart attack causes?

Your diet
What you eat can determine your safety and protection from heart ailments like myocardial infarction. Foods that contain very high fat content and high LDL content can increase the risks of heart ailments. People should try putting some more control with their diets by minimizing too much fat, by knowing your cholesterol levels, and by eating foods that are high in fiber, and full of the necessary nutrients and vitamins. You have to be aware that even the fit person can have heart attack due to high cholesterol levels. It is important to put much attention to what you put into your body,


Physical activity
Lack of exercise or a sedentary lifestyle can increase the risks of heart attack. If you are full of fats across the body, it exerts more pressure across the body and the blood vessels, causing more pressure to the body. Obesity can also prove to be a big issue since it could also lead to issues like hypertension and other heart conditions. It is important to exercise your body. Be sure to do some physical activities. Simple physical activities can really help.

Stress management
It is important nowadays to stay cool and calm. If you are stressed, you can risk yourself of a heart attack. Sudden changes in your emotions can increase your heart processes and if you have other existing health risks, it can aggravate your heart and lead to a heart attack.

Women Heart Attack Symptoms

It is important if you are a woman and you have symptoms that you seek medical treatment immediately. The in women, the common symptoms are:

o Unexplained fatigue or extreme tiredness
o Shortness of breath
o Nausea (not relieved by antacids or even burping)
o Heart burn that won't go away with antacids and
o Cold sweats
o Chest discomfort
o Pressure low in the chest
o Panic or anxiety attack symptoms without the trigger


If you are experiencing these symptoms instead of trying to brush them off as being nothing or assume it is a panic attack. Seek medical treatment. Discussing your health with your primary medical care provider is important. If deep down you feel there is more to your symptoms you should let your doctor know that you want him to run a couple tests. More women die from heart disease than any other ailment.

Cholesterol Testing Not Enough for Some

Test for Protein Called ApoB Better Measure of Heart Attack, Stroke Risk
By Salynn Boyles
WebMD Medical News
Reviewed by Elizabeth Klodas, MD

March 27, 2008 -- People at high risk for heart attacks and strokes may need even more aggressive cholesterol control than is currently recommended, experts now say.

In a joint statement released Thursday by the American Diabetes Association (ADA) and the American College of Cardiology (ACC), the experts concluded that measuring LDL, or bad, cholesterol may no longer be the best measure of heart health in these patients.

The panel found that once LDL cholesterol is lowered to recommended levels in high-risk patients, testing for the protein ApoB may more accurately identify those still at risk for cardiovascular events.

If ApoB levels are high, patients may need more aggressive lifestyle interventions or larger doses of lipid-lowering statin drugs, even if LDL cholesterol levels are within normal range, the panel concluded.

"LDL measurement is still very important," ADA Vice President of Clinical Affairs Sue Kirkman, MD, tells WebMD. "But for high-risk people who are on statin therapy it may not be enough to get LDL down below 100 or even 70."
LDL and ApoB

Achieving an LDL of below 100 milligrams/deciliter is now widely recommended for patients with two or more risk factors for heart disease and for those with diabetes but no other major heart disease risk factors.

Guidelines call for a target LDL at or below 70 for patients with established heart disease or diabetes with additional risk factors for heart disease.

These risk factors include high blood pressure, tobacco use, and family history of heart disease.

While aggressive cholesterol treatment has contributed to reductions in heart attacks and strokes, these events are still common among high-risk patients who reach the target goals, Kirkman says. This could occur if other cholesterol particles that contribute to risk are still elevated.

ApoB is a molecule that is present in all the cholesterol particles that significantly contribute to the development of atherosclerosis (also known as plaque or hardening of the arteries). The hope is that measuring ApoB will help patients and their doctors better gauge actual risk because ApoB will be a more accurate measure of the total number of all artery-clogging particles (not just LDL). There is growing evidence that ApoB levels are a better indicator of heart risk than total cholesterol or LDL.

For this reason, the joint panel recommends a target ApoB level of less than 90 for high-risk patients without established heart disease and less than 80 for the highest-risk patients with heart disease or with diabetes and other cardiovascular risk factors.
Statins and Lifestyle

The report could lead to more aggressive treatment of high-risk patients with lipid-lowering statins, but the panel concluded that more research is needed to confirm the benefits of this approach.

The group also called for public health initiatives aimed at promoting lifestyle changes that reduce cardiovascular risk.

Kirkman says patients and their doctors often focus on drug treatments, forgetting that lifestyle changes can also have a big impact on risk.

"It is important to remember that lifestyle is a big part of this," Kirkman says. "Getting patients to improve their diets, stop smoking, and exercise are all critical. It isn't all about drugs."