Heart Attacks

What is a heart attack?

A heart attack is caused by a build-up of cholesterol or fat or other substances in the arteries that feed the heart. After the build-up clears away it leaves a clot, stopping the blood from passing through. This can severely damage the heart. Should the clot block the entirety of the artery the heart becomes starved of oxygen and leads to the cells in the heart muscle dying. This is not the only cause of a heart attack, it can also be caused by, in a rare case, a spasm of the coronary arteries means the coronary arteries tighten and prevent blood from flowing to the heart. Most conditions often don't lead to heart attacks, being temporary and not lasting long. But, in some cases, longer periods and more extreme cases of coronary spasms can lead to a heart attack.

What are the causes of a heart attack?

There are quite a few potential causes for a heart attack, but just because you have or experience one of these causes, it does not ensure you instantly for a heart attack.

• Age, often men over the age of 45 and women over the age of 55 are more at risk of a heart attack than younger people.
• Smoking, tobacco, as well as the secondhand smoke from it, can put you at risk.
• High blood pressure, having high blood pressure can often damage the arteries that feed blood to your heart, putting you at further risk.
• Obesity, cases of obesity often come along with other things such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol levels, high triglyceride levels and other things that can cause a heart attack.
• Diabetes, not producing enough insulin or not responding to the insulin properly can cause your blood sugar levels to rise, increasing the risk of a heart attack.
• Genes, family history of heart attacks can be an obvious giveaway to the genetic transition of a likely heart attack.
• Physical inactivity, people who are known to regularly exercise have a lower blood pressure putting them at less risk than those who don't exercise regularly.
• Stress, some people respond to stress in a way that can induce risk factors for a heart attack.
• Drug usage, those who use stimulation drugs like cocaine or amphetamines are more at risk due to the fact they can trigger the spasm of your coronary arteries.
• A different condition, having other conditions can often put you more risk of a heart attack.
• Alcohol, having alcohol unless in moderation, is likely to put you at risk of a heart attack.

How can you prevent one?

To prevent heart attacks there is both a lot and a little you can do if you are only at risk of a heart attack due to genetics, there is nothing you can do. Let's say someone has a family history of almost no one having heart attacks, but they smoke, are an alcoholic and don't do much physical activity, depending on the severity, they could be at more risk than those only at risk because of genetics.  The only way you can prevent a heart attack is to avoid most of the things named in the list above. That could lead to more damage than any form of genetic transition.

What are the symptoms?

There are quite a few symptoms of a heart attack but they are quite recognizable.

• Pain in the chest, shoulders, jaw, back or stomach, in some cases it is in more places than one
• Shortness of breath
• Sweating
• Nausea
• Fatigue
• Discomfort, tightness, pressure, or squeezing in the chest.
• An irregular heartbeat
• A drop in blood pressure
• Fluid enters the lungs
• Vomiting
• Coughing
• Dizziness
• Face appearing grey
• Restlessness

What kind of treatment is there?

During a heart attack -

In the case that the person having a heart attack ceases breathing, CPR should be started immediately, with the usage of defibrillator if available, but until it is available it is best to start manual chest compressions to either the beat of Staying Alive by the BeeGees or Baby Shark. I have my questions about why they chose Baby Shark of all songs, but I won't complain if it keeps me alive.

After a heart attack -

Most people will have multiple conditions as repercussions of the heart attack. That can make reference to edema, a condition where fluid builds up in the legs and ankles, causing them to swell, congestive heart failure, where your heart will have a much weaker beat, often leaving a person exhausted quickly. There are many repercussions that can affect you after a heart attack, but most of these can be treated to at least improve the condition of the said person.