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Heart Attack: Symptoms & Risk Factors

Raina Rahul Agarwal 11 Sep, 2022 Disease 2 Comments
Heart Attack

thehealthsite.com

Introduction

A heart Attack is a myocardial infarction, “Myo” means muscles, “cardial” means heart, and “infarction” means the death of tissue because of a lack of blood supply. It is a common disease in many countries. A heart attack happens every 40 seconds according to the Centers for disease control and prevention. In a heart attack, chest pain is a common sign but there are many severe and mild symptoms that also occur during a heart attack, e.g. lightheadedness, nausea and shortness of breath.

What Is a Heart Attack

A heart attack happens when part of the heart muscles does not get enough blood. If there is not sufficient oxygen-rich blood will flow to the heart. It occurs when blood flow to the heart is reduced or blocked. The blockage of the heart occurs due to the accumulation of fat, cholesterol and other substances in the heart (Artery- Blood vessels that distribute oxygen-rich blood to the entire body). It can cause damage to the affected area. As a result heart muscles will begin to die.

When the heart does not get enough blood and oxygen it can cause a high risk of heart failure and other serious complications.

Symptoms Of Heart Attack

Heart Attack

templehealth.org

Symptoms of a heart attack may vary from man to man. Some may be mild or some may be severe symptoms and some people have no symptoms.

There are common symptoms of heart attack:

  • Chest Pain
  • Cold Sweat
  • fatigue
  • Heartburn or indigestion
  • Nausea
  • Shortness of breath
  • Upset stomach
  • Vomiting
  • Dizziness
  • Fast or uneven heartbeat
  • Severe weakness & Anxiety

Angina: It is not a disease or situation. It is a symptom or it may be a signal of a heart attack.  Angina is just chest pain it happens when parts of the heart do not get enough blood. However, Angina goes quickly but it can be a sign of life-threatening.

Causes Of Heart Attack

The main cause of heart attack is coronary heart disease. Coronary heart disease happens due to the formation of plaques in the arteries which supply oxygenated blood to the heart. Fat, Protein, calcium and inflammatory cells accumulate in the arteries to form plaques. Generally, plaque formation in the arteries is called atherosclerosis.

There are mainly two types of heart attack:

Type-1: When plaque is hard on the outer shell cracks then it gets rapture and release cholesterol and other substance like platelets into the bloodstream. It can form blood clots and block the artery.

Type-2 In Type-2 heart attack heart does not receive oxygenated blood as heart muscles become starved for oxygen.

Some other causes of heart attack:

  • Blood vessels spasm
  • Torn blood vessels
  • Drug misuse

Risk Factors Of Heart Attack:

There are several factors that can put the heart at risk:

  • Smoking
  • High Cholesterol
  • Obesity
  • High levels of stress
  • Diabetes
  • Sleep Apnea
  • Excessive alcohol consumption
  • Eating a diet high in trans and saturated fats
  • Lack f exercise

A person who is the age of over 65 years old has a high risk of a heart attack in comparison to younger ones. If any person in the family has problems with high cholesterol and obesity, high blood pressure may have a high risk of a heart attack.

Disclaimer: All the content of this article is for information purposes only.

References: 

www.cdc.gov

www.webmd.com

www.healthline.com

author avatar
Raina Rahul Agarwal
My name is Raina Agarwal, and I am a seasoned content writer with three years of experience in the field. Holding a master's degree in microbiology. I have also garnered valuable experience as a microbiologist, with a career spanning over a decade since 2011. My diverse professional background enables me to offer unique insights and perspectives in my content creation endeavours.

Raina Rahul Agarwal

A Non-Medical Scientist, BSL-2 Lab, Mirzapur

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