A
heart attack is known in medical terms as
‘Myocardial
Infarction’ .
It is a sudden life-endangering occurrence
caused by the complete stoppage of blood supply
to a
part of the heart. This part of the
heart muscle, if not rescued, then dies and
is replaced by dead tissues. Myocardial Infarction
happens mainly because of the slow, progressive
irreversible blockage of the vessels supplying
blood to the heart, called the coronary
arteries.
SYMPTOMS
OF HEART ATTACK
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What
are the different types of Chest pain
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A
central chest pressure ranging from
mild to severe causing a feeling of
suffocation.
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Pain
radiating to the left arm. Where it
may cause a sensation of weakness in
the arm muscles.
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Pain
radiating upto the jaw and sometimes
to the back
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An
upper abdominal discomfort which is
normally mistaken for acidity or indigestion.
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The
American Heart Association and
other medical experts maintain that the
body will send one or more of the following
warning signals of a heart attack:
| u |
Uncomfortable
pressure, fullness, squeezing or
pain in the center of the chest
lasting more than a few minutes. |
| u |
Pain
spreading to the shoulders, neck or
arms. The pain may be mild to intense.
It may feel like pressure, tightness,
burning, or heavy weight. It
may be located in the chest, upper abdomen,
neck, jaw, or inside the arms
or shoulders. |
| u |
Chest
discomfort with lightheadedness, fainting,
sweating, nausea, or shortness of
breath. |
| u |
Anxiety,
nervousness and/or cold, sweaty skin. |
| u |
Paleness
or pallor. |
| u |
Increased
or irregular heart rate. |
| u |
Feeling
of impending doom |
If
you notice
any one or more of these signs
in yourself or others, don’t wait.
Ask someone to drive you or the victim
to the nearest hospital emergency.
The victim
of Heart Attack must never
take the risk of driving himself.
Delay
May Prove Fatal
If
the blockage in the artery serving the heart
muscle can be cleared quickly enough–within
the first few hours of the onset of the attack–the
permanent damage to the heart can be held
to the minimum. That’s why it is so vital
to seek medical attention as fast as possible.
There is a 90 % probability that the first
occurrence of pain is due to angina and not
due to heart attack and even if it goes away,
the arterial blockages that caused it are
still there and will grow progressively worse,
if left untreated.
Remember
:
Ignoring
the signs
of angina and the heart attack
listed above because the pain is not
unbearable or because it goes away is the
worst thing that you can do because it is
the only
It is the only warning you are likely to get
of a
potentially lethal condition
