Posts Tagged ‘Heart Attack’

Symptoms Of A Heart Attack

Sunday, April 5th, 2009

 

Many individuals who experience signs of a heart attack allow them to go unnoticed. Ignoring the tale-tell signs of a heart attack can cause the problem to be much more serious than necessary, potentially leading to heart failure and even death.

If you think you are experiencing a heart attack, or the official medical term, Myocardial Infarction,seek medical attention immediately. This is especially true for individuals who have previously had a heart attack or at a greater risk for a heart attack due to medical conditions or current prescriptions.

Remember the old adage, “better safe than sorry” and immediately seek medical help if you can identify a single sign that the pain or discomfort you are experiencing may be a myocardial infarction.

There are a great many myths when it comes to dealing with heart attacks and the symptoms of individuals who are having them. Many people believe the pain has to be extreme or intense before they should seek medical attention. This is a common myth and completely false, as some sufferers say their coronary was simply discomforting or mildly painful.

When an individual is having a myocardial infarction, they will probably not look like sufferers in movies or on television. The mental association of heart attacks with individuals clutching their chests and falling to the ground is usually incorrect, as many coronary attack victims say their attack began very slowly with an unusual feeling. If left undetected, a heart attack can significantly magnify in scale, but usually coronaries are not a sudden burst of pain.

Women are prone to having coronaries without knowing it, putting them at a greater risk for complications or problems. Most women think they are not at risk for a coronary atttack, but may actually be at a high risk for one. Speak with your doctor about any potential problems with heart attack in your family history or as a result to a current medical issue before dismissing the threat.

There are four main warning signs when it comes to determining whether or not the symptoms you are experiencing may be a myocardial infarction. If you are experiencing any of these symptoms, seek medical attention immediately:

  1. Chest pain or discomfort. The chest pain associated with a coronary attack may not be overwhelming, but rather an uncomfortable feeling. This discomfort has been said to come and go, feeling like a pressure on the sufferer’s chest or an uncomfortable squeezing feeling. Usually, during a heart attack, any pain or discomfort originates in the center of the victim’s chest.
  2. Upper body discomfort. Many coronary attack victims relate that they experienced discomfort in their upper body, especially their shoulder, back, jaw, or arms, before the sensation affected their chest. This can also include an unusual sensation in the stomach. For this reason, a heart attack can be easily mistaken for heartburn or a simple stomach ache.
  3. Shortness of breath. Usually occurring simultaneously with pain or discomfort in the chest, shortness of breath can be anything from the inability to catch one’s breath to being unable to properly breathe. Many coronary victims dismissed this symptom as a side effect of whatever activity in which they were participating when the coronary occurred.
  4. Nausea. The feeling of being sick to one’s stomach is commonly associated with early warning symptoms of a heart attack. This symptom coupled with discomfort in the stomach can lead the victim to dismiss the symptoms as a simple stomach ache or stomach flu.

Other symptoms can include a general feeling of lightheadedness or dizziness. Many coronary victims say they had an overall feeling of unease and had an idea that something was out of the ordinary. Also, many victims have been known to break out in a cold sweat, which can also lead to a misdiagnosis of a flu bug or a less serious problem.

Since myocardial infarctions are quite common in both men and women, you should make it a point to speak to your primary health care provider about your risk for one.

Many individuals who are experiencing these symptoms convince themselves that what they are feeling is not that serious–they rationalize it as indigestion or something else. So they wait until it is too late. If you experience these symptoms, you should go to a hospital immediately. If you do, the chances are that if you are experiencing a coronary attack, you will be able to treat it in time to recover fully. If you wait until tomorrow…there may not be one.

Published by Heart Wellness Store

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Heart Attack or Panic Attack?

Monday, March 23rd, 2009

I always thought that I was invincible. I was in control of my life. Then something really bizarre happened. Some nut job working for the state decided that my retail business license was invalid because the phone number on my application no longer worked.  If you want to feel depressed, anxious, and stressed out just try and convince a beauracrat that they made a mistake.  When they pulled my business license over this and threatened to throw 20 years of hard work out the window, I had a panic attack.

I couldn’t believe the symtpoms. I thought I was having a heart attack. My chest was pounding , my ears were throbbing, I thought I was going to die.  I actually went to my friend who was a Cardiologist and he gave me a Treadmill Stress test.  Halfway through the test he stopped it and told me I had to go to the Hospital. He said I am either having a heart attack or it’s nothing, but the only way to tell is to have an Angiogram which involved surgery.

So I don’t have to tell you I was scared. I didn’t know whether to call  my kids and say good-bye or what. Luckily, I found out it was an anxiety attack. A simple moment when panic attacks your own body. I got a pat on the head and some medicine and was sent home to deal with it.

As a result I have lived with this affliction for a several years and along the way have found some effective ways to deal with it without relying on drugs.  If you would like to see the three best ways to overcome a panic attack visit my website.

As a pharmacist I have seen the effects of anti-anxiety drugs on too many people. Although I talk a little about the various drugs used in Treatment of anxiety attacks, the focus is on using natural healing processes to overcome your panic disorder.

Please Visit stop panic today

Published by Heart Wellness Store

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Living With Congestive Heart Failure (CHF)

Wednesday, March 11th, 2009

 

The one thing that will really change your life in a hurry is a heart attack.  This is particularly so if the heart attack is sufficiently serious that it damages a significant portion of the left ventricle.  In that case the heart can not pump enough blood through your system to maintain your once “normal” body.  You are now a victim of Congestive Heart Failure (CHF).

Congestive Heart Failure Result of Heart Attack

To understand what CHF is and how debilitating it can be, think of CHF as two phrases: “congestive” and “heart failure”.  The “heart failure” part is pretty straight forward.  For whatever reason, probably a blocked coronary artery called an occlusion, a part of the heart muscle was deprived of oxygen nourishing blood flow and consequently died.  That part of the heart muscle no longer works.  It no longer contracts to pump blood throughout he body.  The result is a lesser amount of blood flowing through your system.  That immediately leads to the “congestive” part of the phrase.

As blood is pumped through the body, it is pumped through the kidneys where it is cleansed of impurities and excess liquid.  With less blood flowing through the system, less is cleansed, and less excess fluid is removed.  The excess fluid that is not removed causes your ankles to swell and worse, your lungs to fill with liquid to the point that it becomes almost impossible to breath.  You are in severe “congestion.”

Treating CHF

Fortunately, through the use of medications such as captopril and carvedilol (ace inhibitors and beta blockers) it is possible to rehabilitate the remaining healthy heart muscle so that it pumps harder thus pushing more blood through the system.  Another drug spironolactone, a weak diuretic, or furesomide, a stronger diuretic, can be used to force increased filtration through the kidneys thus helping to keep excess fluid levels in check and thus, keep “congestion” in check.  These drugs, while they make life with CHF much more bearable, are not without consequence.  They can cause liver and kidney problems if not properly balanced.  For that reason it is a good idea to get a blood test every couple of months just to monitor certain specific kidney and liver functions for the maintenance of good health.

 Need For A Pacemaker

Aside from the daily regiment of drugs which must be taken like clockwork for the rest of your life, certain other life changes arise from suffering Congestive Heart Failure.  For one, because of the drugs you will probably need to have a pacemaker installed as a precaution.  The coreg or carvedilol which is used to cause the heart muscle to contract more forcefully (a good thing) has a negative side effect: it causes the heart to beat more slowly.  It is possible that the heart will slow to the point that you pass out.  A pacemaker prevents that.

Restrict Liquids and Salt

The other two big life changers as a result of CHF are restricting your liquid intake to no more than 2 liters of total liquid in a single day and that may be too much, and, radically changing your diet.  Start with reducing your salt intake.  Salt helps the body retain fluids, exactly what you do not want to do.  So, gone are most prepared foods, sauces and soups.  You probably don’t realize just how bland food can be without salt.  Did you ever try eating pop-corn or a potato without salt?  You won’t have much use for kethup either as you will soon see.

Reduce Cholesterol

Next, reduce cholesterol containing foods – those would be your meats and cheeses.  Say good bye to cheeseburgers and fries except for the occasional splurge (once every six months).  Replace you dinners of steaks and roasts with chicken and fish, vegetables, fruits, nuts (unsalted) and salads.

It may be life altering to have a heart attack so severe that it leads to CHF but the fact that I am alive to write about it is a testament to the miracles modern medicine.

Published by Heart Wellness Store

 Copyright Feb 2009
George Fulton

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