India is a country which bears the largest number of deaths due to heart attack. As per the prediction of ICMR and WHO, India could possibly be the capital of heart attack by 2020. You can help decrease the death rate in our country by sharing this vital knowledge about the heart disease presented by Dr. Chandra Shekhar.
What is a heart attack?
Heart attack is a very broad term which basically describes the whole complex of the signs that the patient experiences, symptoms which he manifests with, and the outcome of this particular cause. The outcome is mainly decreased oxygen supply to the heart muscles.
It is the result of sudden blockade of coronary arteries, which supply blood along with oxygen to the heart muscles for the regular pumping activity. Apart from sudden blockade of coronary arteries, there could be constriction of the coronary arteries which results in decreased oxygen supply to the heart muscles ultimately resulting into a heart attack.
There is a difference between myocardial infarction and myocardial ischemia. Myocardial ischemia is decreased blood supply which when prolonged over a period of time could result in the death of cardiac cells or heart muscles. This is called myocardial infarction which is a more severe form of heart attack.
What are the causes of heart attack?
There are numerous associated factors or causes of heart attack; however, there are some eminent ones and the basic pathology lies in them:
- Deposition of fatty materials or bad cholesterol
- Acute coronary syndrome [entire complex of signs, symptoms, and outcomes]
- Coronary artery disease (CAD) [precipitating or causative factors of the ultimate process of heart attack]
- Spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD)
- Rupture of coronary artery muscles
What are the symptoms of heart attack?
One of the best chemical books describe these heart attack symptoms:
- Heaviness of the chest (as an elephant climbing over the chest)
- Intense tightness in the chest
- Chest pain
- Excruciating pain in the chest along with the tightness
- Radiating pain towards the throat upto the jaw
- Radiating pain towards the back
- Radiating pain towards the stomach (xiphisternum)
- Perspiration (excessive sweating)
- Shortness of breath
- Lightheadedness or dizziness
- Nausea (tendency to vomit)
- Actual vomiting
- For diabetic patients, no chest pain (silent myocardial ischemia or silent MI)
How to diagnose a heart attack?
- Electrocardiagram (ECG or EKG)
- Blood tests: troponin investigations, creatine kinase MB section (CK-MB), and lactate dehydrogenase
- Echocardiogram
- Coronary angiography
- Special X-rays to diagnose artery blockades or narrowings
