Heart attack! What is it exactly? How can we help the person with heart attack?

Your heart is a muscle which contracts about 100 000 times a day! Can you imagine that your heart pumps about 5,5-6 l of blood in only one minute?

It’s a really important organ because it takes care of our oxygenation, nutrition and removal of metabolic wastes by forcing the blood to circulate.

What happens when there’s just not enough oxygen?

It can be a reason of the myocardial infarction which is commonly known as a heart attack.

Let’s take a look what can be a cause of the heart attack.
We have to be aware that our heart like every other organ needs oxygen to work, to produce energy.
The heart has his own blood vessels (the left and right coronary arteries). They provide oxygenated blood. The oxygen is transported into cardiac muscle cells so they can work properly. It’s a very important moment for our circulatory system. Our perfect pump can’t work on oxygen debt for too long otherwise it will be damaged.

Let’s focus on coronary arteries. If our diet is full of trans fats (we can find them for example in margarine, breads, cake products and animal fat) or cholesterol- these substances may create a clot. As we can see the wall of the vessel is thicken. The clot can block the blood supply and cause a heart attack.

If you think- okay! I’m gonna eat healthier, I’ll focus on my diet now and it will be fine…No, my dear, that’s not enough to prevent heart attack but it’s a good way to start taking care of yourself . Let’s take a look on other risk factors:
1.High blood pressure.

2.Smoking- damages the lining of blood vessels, increases fatty deposits in the arteries, increases blood clotting. Nicotine increases the heart rate and raises blood pressure.

3.Diabetes.

4.Lack of exercise!!

5.Obesity.

As you can see at least 4 of 6 reasons are the effects of our bad lifestyle. Don’t worry, there’s still a hope. We can always leave chips and fries and choose some salads instead, we can go swimming instead of lying on the couch . Just think about your own body- it needs your attention! Right now :)

Now imagine that you are walking down the street and you see a person who asks you for help. She complains of chest pain, shortness of breath, nausea. She’s feeling tired and has a cold sweat. She complains of pain which radiates to the hands, jaw and the back.

Remember! The heart attack pain can be mistaken for indigestion!

These are the symptoms of the myocardial infarction. Don’t be afraid- now you know what’s happening here. The next step is to help this person.

If the person is conscious:
Ask her if she can sit down, help her if she needs that. Take off any clothes that can be too tight (for example a tie or a shirt). Cover her with a blanket to make sure that she’s not feeling cold and…CALL THE AMBULANCE!

Pro tips: You can medicate this person with Aspirin (it will decrease coagulation of blood) but remember to make sure that she’s not allergic to it!

If the person is unconscious:
Provide CPR (Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation).

In the end of my article I’m going to show you some statistics about heart attacks. I find it really interesting:

1. Every 43 seconds, someone in the United States has a heart attack.
2. One of 5 heart attacks is silent—the damage is done, but the person is not aware of it.
3. In a 2005 survey, most respondents—92%—recognized chest pain as a symptom of a heart attack. Only 27% were aware of all major symptoms and knew to call 9-1-1 when someone was having a heart attack.
4. About 47% of sudden cardiac deaths occur outside a hospital. This suggests that many people with heart disease don't act on early warning signs.

I used some facts from the links below. If you want to know more please check my sources :). I'm sorry for any grammar mistakes, english is not my first language :). Hope you enjoyed reading!

Sources:
https://www.cdc.gov/heartdisease/facts.htm
http://www.world-heart-federation.org/cardiovascular-health/heart-disease/frequently-asked-questions/
https://www.cdc.gov/heartdisease/heart_attack.htm
forumkardiologiczne.pl
Wikipedia.org
Pictures:
http://i4.mirror.co.uk
http://medicalsecrets.com
http://az616578.vo.msecnd.net
https://health.spectator.co.uk