Identifying signs of a heart attack in men. Heart attacks - a threat to the heart

Heart attack is one of the common causes of sudden death. No one is safe from it. Especially those people who have crossed a certain age limit. But, unfortunately, heart attacks are increasingly observed at a fairly young age. Moreover, the symptoms in women are somewhat different from the signs of pathology in men. They are more blurred and not expressed. And this leads to the fact that mortality rates in women from heart attacks are steadily increasing.

How to correctly recognize the first heart attack? And what to do in this situation? or to a loved one?

What is a heart attack

The pathology often leads to death. But doctors say that if first aid is provided in a timely manner and a team of doctors is called, then the patient can be saved. Most often, it is likely that urgent treatment measures could not be taken. In this case, death occurs as a result of extensive damage to the heart and complications that arise.

What happens in the body with this pathology? Symptoms of a heart attack in women appear when one of the arteries supplying the myocardium ceases to function fully. It does not fully deliver blood to the main organ. This causes damage to parts of the tissue that begin to die. The patient is in dire need of qualified help. Otherwise, it will be fatal.

What can cause a heart attack? Symptoms in women occur due to impaired vascular blood flow. Pathology can manifest itself as a result of a sudden spasm. Often an attack is triggered by an unexpected blockage of a vessel with cholesterol or a blood clot. Regardless of the factor that caused the pathology, the reason for the death of cardiac tissue is the same - lack of oxygen.

Factors leading to heart attack

There are many reasons that can trigger a heart attack. Symptoms in women are in most cases similar, regardless of the source of the pathology.

The main provoking factors include:

• age (after 55 years a woman enters the risk zone);
• hereditary factor;
• undergone surgery to remove the ovaries;
• period after menopause.

Additional sources of pathology

However, there are other causes that provoke a heart attack that can be eliminated or their negative impact on the body can be negated.

These factors are:

1. Smoking, alcohol addiction, drug addiction. These factors come first. Smokers are almost always diagnosed with heart disease. Alcohol intoxication worsens the situation several times. Often an acute attack occurs in a state of deep hangover.
2. Taking birth control pills. Sometimes this factor leads to the appearance of pathology in women who have not even reached 40 years of age.
3. High cholesterol content. Vessels clogged with plaques experience serious overload. Of course, the heart does not receive enough blood. He has to function in an enhanced mode.
4. Obesity. Organs swollen with fat do not allow the myocardium to work at full capacity. This is a fairly common cause leading to cardiac disorders.
5. Inactivity. As a rule, this factor is combined with obesity or overweight.
6. Hypertension. High blood pressure overloads the heart muscle and blood vessels.
7. Diabetes. This is a pathology that provokes many different disorders in the body. The cardiovascular system also suffers from the disease.
8. Inflammatory processes in blood vessels. They provoke rupture of the coronary artery. Inflammation causes an increase in reactive protein in the body. This picture is most often observed in women. Doctors are not yet ready to say what causes the increase in protein.
9. Hypothyroidism. The disease often becomes a source of heart disease. It can trigger an attack.
10. Chronic stress. This condition is the cause of the development of most diseases in the body. And first of all, stress negatively affects the functioning of the heart.

Classic signs

Let's look at what are the most common symptoms of a heart attack?

The pathology is characterized by the following main features:

1. Pain appears in the chest area. This is the most characteristic symptom of an impending heart attack. But pain doesn't always happen. Some people feel discomfort, tightness, and a certain pressure in the chest. In this case, pain is completely absent. Patients claim that it becomes difficult for them to breathe, and there is a feeling “as if someone had stepped on their chest.” Very often, people believe that a heart attack only causes pain in the sternum and unpleasant discomfort in the left arm. You should know that negative sensations can appear in any other parts of the body: in the shoulders, throat, upper abdomen, jaws, teeth, back.
2. Heavy sweating, perspiration. Pay attention when this symptom appears. Particular concern is caused by increased sweating in a person who is in a cool room, and not in the heat. Perspiration that appears in the absence of physical activity may indicate problems. Heavy sweating is caused by clogged arteries. The heart needs to work harder to pump enough blood. To maintain a normal temperature during additional stress, the body produces a large amount of sweat. If you encounter such a problem, be sure to consult your doctor.
3. Dyspnea. If such attacks occur after a slight exercise (climbing a couple of floors, walking), you should consult a doctor. Very often, shortness of breath is a symptom of heart disease. Especially if it is accompanied by severe fatigue and chest pain. Women are more likely to experience these symptoms. It is shortness of breath and fatigue that usually warns of an upcoming heart attack.

Additional symptoms

In a classic attack, the following often occur:

1. Problems with the gastrointestinal tract. Very often, before an attack, disorders appear in the digestive tract. Indigestion, heartburn, and nausea may occur. These symptoms are often combined with dizziness. However, do not forget that such symptoms can be inherent in a number of pathologies.
2. Numbness in fingers. Can only cover brushes. But sometimes the numbness spreads to the shoulders and forearms.
3. Impaired speech. A completely sober person begins to get tongue-tied. Speech becomes slurred and incomprehensible.
4. Impaired motor coordination. The person loses control over the body. Most often this affects the neck, shoulders, and arms. This state is very similar to alcohol intoxication. Especially if it is combined with This is why others do not always rush to help a person in such a state. This is very dangerous, because precious minutes are lost.

If you promptly pay attention to the main symptoms of a heart attack listed above, you can save a person’s life. Therefore, do not pass by a person who needs your help.

Features of attacks in women

Most often, people imagine a heart attack as a sudden, pronounced attack. If pathology concerns representatives of the fair half of humanity, then the situation is somewhat different. Symptoms of a heart attack in women are rarely pronounced. Most patients tolerate them without attaching any importance to them.

This is dictated by the fact that the signs of the disease are blurred in most cases. Therefore, women do not notice them and do not take them seriously. In addition, the symptoms are somewhat different from the signs that characterize an attack in men.

Alarm Signals

Please note what are the first symptoms of a heart attack in women:

1. Severe fatigue, almost unsettling.
2. Disturbed sleep, insomnia. This condition can occur even after severe fatigue. These symptoms appear about a month before the attack.
3. Increased anxiety, nervousness, feeling of stress.
4. Indigestion, nausea with normal diet.
5. Weakness, clammy, sweaty skin.
6. Difficulty breathing during normal exercise or climbing stairs.
7. The appearance of pain in the neck, face, jaw, ears. Discomfort may spread to the arms and shoulders. It resembles a condition when muscle tissue is stretched.

How to help yourself?

If you observe the signs of a heart attack in women described above, do not wait for the condition to worsen. The best decision is to see a doctor and get qualified help.

Remember that you need to report all symptoms that appear to your doctor. In addition, it is important to name factors that can aggravate the condition (genetic predisposition, smoking, hypertension).

If you have a seizure

What to do if you are caught by surprise by a heart attack? Symptoms and first aid are points that every person should know well. After all, minutes count.

First aid consists of the following measures:

1. Call an ambulance immediately. Even if you don’t know how to help yourself, the dispatcher will explain to you what to do before the doctors arrive.
2. Contact your family who can come to you immediately if the attack begins while you are alone.
3. Take an aspirin tablet (325 mg). The pill should be chewed so that it has an effect faster.
4. Take a nitroglycerin tablet. If no positive effect is observed, you can use the medicine again. The third pill is allowed to be taken only if the pain does not subside within 10 minutes after taking the second pill.
5. Try to remain calm. Panic and fear, characteristic of an attack, complicate the condition. Remember that help is on the way to you. You can focus on counting your heartbeat. It's calming.
6. Remain in a supine position, on your back. In this case, it is advisable to raise your legs higher by placing a pillow or other object under them. This will allow the diaphragm to open, and oxygen will flow better into the blood.
7. Take deep breaths and even exhalations.
8. If possible, it is recommended to open a window to provide fresh air.

What not to do

If symptoms of a heart attack are observed in women, it is not enough to know how to act in such a situation. It should be remembered that it is strictly contraindicated:

• stand up or move around;
• smoke;
• drive;
• use aspirin if there is intolerance to the drug or an exacerbation of gastritis or ulcers is diagnosed;
• take nitroglycerin in case of low blood pressure, severe headaches, problems with speech, coordination, or vision;
• consume drinks or food.

Help a loved one

What should you do if you see something wrong with a person and you suspect he is having a heart attack?

Symptoms in women and treatment are often taken lightly by such individuals. Therefore, be prepared for the fact that they will begin to refuse to call the doctor and protest against the need to take a horizontal position.

Your actions should be as quick and clear as possible:

1. Call an ambulance.
2. Lay the patient on a horizontal surface, placing any object under his feet. Make sure that the patient does not get up.
3. Unfasten your collar and belt.
4. Provide fresh air by opening a window. Turn on the fan.
5. Try to calm and encourage the victim.

Be sure to complete all the activities described above. And remember that the future life of this person depends on your actions.

A heart attack is a sudden failure of myocardial circulation. The cause of circulatory disorders can be spastic as well as thrombotic lesions of the coronary vessels.

Death from a heart attack can occur even in the early stages of development.

Cardiovascular diseases do not manifest themselves at an early stage of the disease.

When the first signs of abnormalities in the functioning of the cardiac system appear, they quite often end in a heart attack.

Early signs

Early signs appear in the body long before a heart attack or myocardial infarction. And it is not always possible to determine pathologies in the heart using them.

Knowing the signs of a heart attack, you need to consult a doctor promptly and take all opportunities to prevent the development of a disease that can trigger an attack.

These include:

• Dyspnea. Shortness of breath is the most common sign of an attack. The patient feels a lack of inhaled air, both in a state of physical activity and at rest. The reason for this symptom is that the heart does not deliver enough oxygen to the internal vital organs. The symptom of shortness of breath is characteristic of myocardial infarction;
• Pain in the chest in the region of the heart. This symptom is characteristic of heart attacks. Symptoms of pain: burning, squeezing area of ​​the heart. This pain radiates to the area of ​​the shoulder blade, to the left arm, often to the neck and jaw. Attacks of this pain appear periodically over several weeks, and signal an approaching heart attack;
• Constant feeling of fatigue, as well as very rapid fatigue. Very often people do not pay due attention to these signs, citing stressful situations and increased physical activity. But with cardiac pathology, these sensations become stronger every day and are chronic;
• Dizziness. The sign of dizziness is provoked by a disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. The first signs of dizziness occur after physical activity, but after the disease develops, dizziness in the head occurs even after minor activity;
• Swelling of the legs and heaviness in the lower extremities. Swelling of the lower extremities appears in the afternoon and towards evening. Feelings of swelling: a feeling of squeezing your feet with shoes, squeezing your feet with rubber bands from socks;
• Pain in the stomach area. Pain under the ribs is accompanied by severe nausea and is often accompanied by vomiting. People do not always associate stomach pain with heart problems, and often the signs of this pain signal an approaching myocardial infarction.

Early signs of a heart attack associated with the vascular system

Quite often, pathologies of the heart and cardiac system are associated with abnormalities in the vascular system and disorders in the nervous system.

Early signs of myocardial infarction:

• Insomnia and unstable sleep;
• Unreasonable anxiety and a feeling of panic;
• Increased level of sweat production by the body;
• Unreasonable sweating for a fairly long period of time;
• The pulse during a heart attack is rapid, even at rest, and does not go away for quite a long time;
• Fainting state. Frequency of fainting may occur for several days before a heart attack.

What are non-typical signs of a heart attack?

Signs of an impending heart attack may include symptoms not typical of cardiac pathologies. Often these symptoms are not associated with abnormalities of the cardiac system.

These signs include:

• Heartburn. Pain due to angina pectoris is mistaken for heartburn and is not addressed to a cardiologist;
• Apnea and night snoring. These symptoms are directly related to abnormalities in the cardiac system and vascular diseases;
• A painful condition, like the flu. Symptoms of this condition: weakness of the body, increased sweating, cold skin of the hands and feet;
• A state of anxiety. An alarming premonition of the onset of a negative moment. These symptoms are associated with disorders of the vascular and nervous systems;
• Periodontal disease. This symptom is in no way associated with heart pathologies. Inflammation of the gums is one of the atypical signs of a disturbance in the functioning of the cardiac system, which provokes an attack of myocardial infarction.

What are the symptoms in women and men?

Symptoms of an attack in men and women have slight differences.

Heart pathologies in the female body develop much later than in the male body.

The physiological characteristics of the female body are such that it has good natural protection during childbearing years. But with the onset of menopause, the chances of developing heart pathologies in men and women become equal.

A physiological feature of the male body is that men suffer a heart attack more easily than women. The mortality rate for men from myocardial infarction is much lower than for women.

Women endure many of the symptoms of an attack without visible sensations, so it is especially important for women to diagnose disturbances in the functioning of the cardiac system in a timely manner. And start treating heart diseases on time.

Symptoms that are the same in men and women:

• Dyspnea. Shortness of breath is the most common sign of an attack. The patient feels a lack of inhaled air, both in a state of physical activity and at rest. The reason for this symptom is that the heart does not deliver enough oxygen to the internal vital organs. The symptom of shortness of breath is characteristic of myocardial infarction;
• The body produces increased levels of sweat and sweating continues for a long time. Constantly wet and sticky palms;
• Pain under the ribs, which is transmitted to the left side of the body: arm, neck on the left side and to the left side of the jaw.

Women do not always feel the symptoms of an approaching attack, especially chest pain. Sharp chest pain, like in men, develops quite rarely in women. Many signs are barely noticeable for women, so untimely treatment leads to death.

Warning signs of a heart attack

The following signs indicate an approaching attack:

• Failure of heart rhythm - arrhythmia;
• Severe dizziness with nausea;
• Continuous cough;
• Burning and heat in the chest;
• Disorders in the digestive system - vomiting, diarrhea, constipation;
• Weakness;
• Lethargy of the upper and lower extremities;
• A sharp feeling of fatigue.

How to recognize signs of an approaching heart attack?

In the event of an impending myocardial infarction, the symptoms become pronounced:

Severe burning behind the chest.

Numbness of the lower and upper extremities. This condition is caused by disturbances in the blood flow. Before a heart attack, there is a deviation from the normal functioning of the circulatory system and blood does not flow in sufficient quantities to the peripheral arteries of the arms and legs.

Deviation in movement coordination. Disturbances can appear several days before the attack and constantly develop. At the moment of the approach of an attack and immediately before the attack, the patient cannot move his arm, turn his neck, or move his shoulder.

This sign is a signal that an attack is beginning and the help of a medical professional is needed.

Disturbance in the functioning of the speech apparatus. If the patient is conscious, and he experiences pain in pronouncing words and difficulty speaking, and this occurs simultaneously with problems in coordinating movement.

This man urgently needs qualified medical care because his life is at risk.

Fainting and loss of consciousness. In this condition, a person needs emergency assistance from medical personnel, as his life is at risk. Delayed assistance can result in death.

If you do not provide emergency assistance in case of a heart attack and do not stop the syndromes of this attack within 5 minutes, then there is a high probability of myocardial infarction, and often fatal.

What causes a heart attack?

The cause of myocardial necrosis is damage to the walls of blood vessels that feed the myocardial muscle with atherosclerotic plaques.

Factors that provoke the disease myocardial necrosis, which causes a heart attack, are:

• High cholesterol levels in the body. High cholesterol provokes the development of atherosclerosis, which can lead to a heart attack;
• Diabetes;
• High blood pressure. If a person has high blood pressure for a long period (more than 5 calendar years), then changes occur in the structure of the heart muscle. The left atrium and left ventricle are most susceptible to deformation. In this condition, hypertrophy or stenosis develops, which subsequently develops into heart failure;
• Taking non-steroidal drugs against inflammatory processes. Long-term use of such medications can cause a heart attack;
• A state of constant stress. With this condition, the walls of the coronary arteries and the vascular system are in good shape;
• Passive lifestyle. If a person is sedentary, his blood circulation is impaired, which leads to a malfunction in the circulatory system. With such blood circulation, the myocardium does not receive enough nutrition and necrosis develops in it;
• Alcoholism. Excessive alcohol consumption leads to heart pathologies and the development of heart failure;
• Smoking. Nicotine negatively affects blood vessels and coronary arteries, as well as myocardial tissue. The walls of the heart thicken and do not allow proper blood circulation in this organ;
• High body weight. With obesity, metabolic processes in the body are disrupted, which provoke the development of serious diseases in the cardiac system, endocrine system and vascular system. It also leads to increased stress on internal vital organs.

Risks of having a heart attack include:

• Elderly age;
• Being male;
• Genetic predisposition;
• Failure to comply with food culture;
• hereditary predisposition.

First aid for a heart attack

If pronounced signs of a heart attack appear, you must urgently call an ambulance.

It is also necessary, when calling the ambulance, to provide complete information about your feelings:

If you feel bad during an attack, then you need to ask for help.

In order to more easily tolerate pain, you need to take a horizontal position. You need to lie on a fairly hard and level surface. The head should be higher than the level of the heart.

You can put a couple of pillows under your head, or if the attack occurred on the street, then make a cushion from your outerwear.

You need to lie calmly, do not talk or make any sudden movements. Breathing should be slow, holding air in the lungs for 5 to 10 seconds and then releasing it slowly.

It is necessary to free the body as much as possible from constrictive clothing and give the opportunity for free breathing:

• Unbutton the shirt collar;
• Untie or remove your tie;
• Unfasten the belt on your trousers;
• For women, unfasten your bra.

If the attack occurs indoors, you need to open the window and let in a stream of fresh air.

Measure your blood pressure; if your blood pressure is too high, you can take vasodilators (nitroglycerin).

If your blood pressure is low, taking vasodilators is prohibited.

It is also necessary to give the person an aspirin tablet., in order to prevent the formation of blood clots, which can worsen the situation.

During an attack, you need to constantly monitor the pulse, and if the pulse begins to disappear, then in this case it is necessary to perform an indirect cardiac massage and carry out artificial respiration. Maybe this is the only way to save human life.

Article publication date: 03/02/2017

Article updated date: 12/18/2018

From this article you will learn: what a heart attack is, what signs it manifests itself. First aid and treatment. How to prevent a recurrence.

A heart attack is the appearance of pain in the heart area, which is accompanied by additional unpleasant symptoms. This phrase serves as a common name for an acute form of coronary artery disease. The colloquial concept of “heart attack” roughly corresponds to the medical term “acute coronary syndrome” - a diagnosis that is given to the patient before a detailed diagnosis. After additional examination, the diagnosis is changed to myocardial infarction.

That is, a heart attack can be understood as either an intense attack of angina or a heart attack.

If it occurs, call an ambulance immediately. Depending on the severity of the condition, the patient may be hospitalized or receive medical care at home, and this will be enough. After a heart attack, you will need to see a cardiologist regularly.

Causes of heart attack

Pain in the heart appears due to insufficient blood supply to the heart muscle - myocardial ischemia. It occurs due to the deposition of fat on the inner walls of the coronary vessels or the formation of blood clots.

Factors that provoke ischemia include:

• hyperlipidemia (metabolic disorder in which the level of fats in the blood is increased);
• smoking, alcohol abuse;
• obesity;
• physical inactivity or, conversely, excessive physical activity;
• hypertension;
• diabetes;
• thrombophilia (tendency to form blood clots).

The heart attack itself can be caused by increased blood pressure during stress or intense exercise. It can also occur for no apparent reason - when deposits on the coronary artery block its lumen by more than 70%, or when the vessel is blocked by a blood clot.

Symptoms

Signs of a heart attack can appear suddenly, and sometimes there are warning signs. It depends on the severity. An attack of angina usually appears suddenly (and ends just as suddenly). And myocardial infarction is often preceded by initial symptoms ().

Signs of a mild heart attack (with angina)

The following symptoms are typical for this case:

• pressing or burning pain in the chest;
• the pain can “radiate” to the left arm, shoulder, neck, interscapular area or stomach;
• if the pain radiates to the stomach, then nausea is added to the main symptom.

Let's take a closer look at the main symptoms of a heart attack and previous signs.

Precursors of a heart attack

If a person has previously suffered from attacks of heart pain, then they become more frequent and intense. This indicates the transition of angina from a stable form to an unstable one. If symptoms of chronic ischemia begin to bother you more often than usual, immediately contact your treating cardiologist. Treatment will need to be adjusted to prevent myocardial necrosis.

Often a heart attack is preceded by symptoms that not everyone takes seriously. This:

1. Periodic feeling of discomfort in the chest, sometimes in the entire upper body (arms, neck, head).
2. Shortness of breath, poor tolerance to stuffy rooms.
3. Weakness and fatigue - even in the absence of active physical or mental activity.
4. Swelling of the legs.
5. Insomnia, anxiety.
6. Dizziness.

Some of these signs may even appear 20 to 30 days before a heart attack. Usually people who are attentive to their health complain about them. Those who are used to always putting off going to the doctor until the last minute may not even notice these warning signs.

If the symptoms listed in the list appear, even if they do not bother you much, go to the clinic for a preventive examination of the whole body.

Symptoms of a heart attack

The main symptom is severe pressing or burning pain behind the sternum. It can radiate to the left side (arm, shoulder, neck), less often to the right side of the chest or stomach.

The pain does not go away within 15 minutes - 3 hours. Sometimes the pain can last a day, but with periods of weakening.

The appearance of this symptom alone is already a reason to call an ambulance.

Additional symptoms

Additional signs of a heart attack:

• weakness in the body;
• increased sweating;
• shortness of breath, feeling of lack of air;
• fast or irregular heartbeat;
• nausea;
• pale or bluish skin;
• dizziness (less commonly, fainting).

It is not necessary for all these symptoms to appear at the same time. The clinical picture of a heart attack usually consists of the main symptom (chest pain) and two or three additional ones.

1. It's difficult to breathe.
2. My head is spinning.
3. I have a stomachache.
4. Feels weak throughout the whole body.

Sometimes such patients lose consciousness.

What to do during an attack

• If you have a heart attack during physical activity, gradually stop all your activities, sit down, calm down, try to move less, and don’t panic.
• If you have had similar conditions before, take the pills your doctor prescribed for pain relief (usually Nitroglycerin).
• If the medicine does not work within 3-5 minutes, call an ambulance (describe all your symptoms as fully as possible over the phone).
  While doctors are on the road, take Aspirin. This is a very important part of first aid. Aspirin prevents the formation of blood clots and thins the blood, which facilitates blood circulation through the narrowed vessel. In this way, further death of the myocardium can be prevented. Even if it turns out in the end that you are not having a heart attack, but just an attack of angina, Aspirin will not harm.
• If you are very bothered by pain, you can take another Nitroglycerin tablet, but not earlier than 5 minutes after the first. Before doing this, it is advisable to measure the pressure. If it is lowered, you can no longer drink Nitroglycerin. If you are prone to low blood pressure, it is better not to take Nitroglycerin until the doctors arrive.

If your relative or friend shows signs of a heart attack, you need to act in a similar way. Sit the patient in a comfortable position, open the window if possible. Ask if he has had similar conditions before (it is advisable to inform him about whether this is the first or a repeated attack when calling an ambulance). Call a doctor. Give an Aspirin tablet.

Treatment

For any form of heart attack (both angina and heart attack), the patient is shown the following as first aid:

1. Nitroglycerin or other nitrates.
2. Antiplatelet agents (Aspirin or similar drugs).
3. Beta blockers.

During a heart attack, anticoagulants (Heparin) and thrombolytics (Streptokinase) are also administered; if pain persists, morphine is administered.

After a detailed examination, the patient may be prescribed surgery to restore blood supply to the myocardium: coronary angioplasty or.

Further treatment will consist of preventing recurrent attacks of angina or myocardial infarction. Patients are prescribed the following drugs:

• Aspirin is required for all patients with angina or a previous heart attack.
• Statins – to control blood fat levels.
• Beta blockers - to reduce blood pressure and eliminate arrhythmias.
• Diuretics – relieve swelling, thereby reducing the load on the myocardium.
• Nitroglycerin – for repeated episodes of heart pain.

Further lifestyle

If you don't want to have another heart attack, follow these rules:

1. Stop smoking and drinking alcohol completely.
2. Do physical therapy if your doctor recommends it.
3. Follow the diet prescribed to you (do not eat salty, fatty, fried, smoked foods, limit your consumption of sweets and starchy foods).

Forecast

It largely depends on how quickly medical care is provided. In case of a heart attack, treatment must begin within 40 minutes from the onset of heart pain or other symptoms. Therefore, it is important to call an ambulance in time.

The prognosis for any heart attack is conditionally unfavorable: ischemia cannot be cured completely. However, if you follow all the doctor’s recommendations, you can avoid a second attack and significantly prolong your life.

The heart muscle requires a continuous supply of oxygen-rich blood for nutrition. The coronary arteries supply the heart with a significant amount of blood. If you have coronary artery disease, the arteries become narrow and blood cannot move through them properly. Fatty matter, calcium, proteins and inflammatory cells accumulate inside the arteries and form plaques of various sizes. These plaques are hard on the outside but soft and porous on the inside.

If the plaque is very hard, the outer lining cracks (rupture of an atherosclerotic plaque), platelets (disc-shaped particles in the blood responsible for blood clotting) enter the area, and blood clots accumulate around the plaque. If blood clots completely block an artery, the heart muscle begins to lack oxygen. Within a short period of time, heart muscle cells begin to die, causing permanent damage. This is what happens during a heart attack.

Additionally, a heart attack can also be caused by coronary artery spasm. During this spasm, the coronary arteries contract, reducing blood flow to the heart (ischemia). The spasm can occur at rest and can even occur in people who do not have coronary artery disease.

Each coronary artery supplies blood to an area of ​​the heart muscle. The amount of damage to the heart muscle depends on the size of the area supplied by the blocked artery and the time between injury and treatment.

What drugs are used to treat a heart attack?

The goals of drug therapy are to break up or prevent blood clots, prevent platelets from aggregating and adhering to the plaque, and prevent further ischemia.

These medications must be taken as soon as possible (within 1 to 2 hours of the onset of the heart attack) to reduce the amount of damage to the heart. The later a patient takes these drugs, the more damage may occur and the less benefit they will provide.

Drugs used during a heart attack may include:

• Aspirin to prevent blood clots, which can make a heart attack worse.
• Other antiplatelet drugs such as Brilinta, Effent or Plavix to prevent blood clots.
• Thrombolytic therapy to break up any blood clots in the arteries of the heart.
• Any combination of these drugs.

Other drugs taken during and after a heart attack slow the heart, improve heart function, dilate blood vessels, relieve pain, and protect against life-threatening heart rhythms.

Are there other treatments for heart attacks?

During or shortly after a heart attack, you may go to a catheterization laboratory to accurately evaluate the condition of your heart, arteries, and the extent of damage to the heart. In some cases, procedures (such as angioplasty or stents) are used to open narrowed or blocked arteries.

If necessary, bypass surgery may be performed a few days after a heart attack to restore adequate blood flow to the heart.

Treatments (drugs, open heart surgery, and surgical procedures such as angioplasty) may not cure coronary artery disease. Once you have had a heart attack and undergone treatment, you are not protected from having another heart attack. This Maybe happen again. But there are several measures to prevent further heart attacks.

How to prevent a future attack?

After a heart attack, the goal is to maintain a healthy heart and reduce your risk of having another heart attack. The best way to prevent future attacks is to take medications, make lifestyle changes, and see your doctor regularly.

Why do you need to take medications after a heart attack?

When will I see my doctor after I leave the hospital?

Make an appointment with your doctor within 4 to 6 weeks after your heart attack. Your doctor will want to check your recovery progress. Your doctor may ask you to undergo a diagnostic test (such as an exercise electrocardiogram). This test can help your doctor identify the presence or progression of blockages in the coronary arteries and plan treatment.

Contact your doctor sooner if you have symptoms such as chest pain that occurs more frequently, gets worse, lasts longer, or spreads to other areas, difficulty breathing, especially at rest, dizziness, or

First of all, it must be said that the concept of “heart attack” does not mean a specific disease. With these words, people refer to two different disorders that occur when the heart malfunctions.

As a rule, after a detailed examination, the patient is diagnosed with “acute coronary syndrome”, which is then, as a result of additional diagnostics, changed to either “angina pectoris” or “myocardial infarction”. Thus, one of these pathologies may be hidden under the abstract concept.

What pathologies are actually hidden behind the words “heart attack”? As you know, the heart is an organ that pumps blood throughout the body. When this process is disrupted, coronary artery disease occurs. Blood cannot move through the coronary arteries due to obstacles that arise in its path.

These can be either blood clots (thrombi) or cholesterol plaques on the walls of blood vessels. Oxygen stops flowing to the heart, and oxygen starvation occurs with further gradual death of the organ itself. This is how angina occurs, which can then develop into myocardial infarction.

The main reason for the development of this condition is the lack of oxygen in the myocardium, which is facilitated by a decrease in the lumen of blood vessels. But there can be many factors that provoke the development of the disease:

• overweight;
• alcohol abuse, smoking;
• diabetes;
• physical inactivity or, conversely, excessive physical activity;
• vegetative-vascular dystonia;
• abuse of fatty foods;
• lack of oxygen;
• arterial hypertension;
• elderly age;
• predisposition to the development of thrombosis.

Symptoms

Heart ailments can occur unexpectedly, in the form of very minor deviations. But it happens that, at first glance, non-serious symptoms indicate larger problems, which, if ignored, can lead to irreversible consequences.

First signs

Sometimes the presence of a problem is indicated by precursors that precede the development of an acute condition. It should be noted that angina usually occurs abruptly, unexpectedly, while a heart attack develops gradually.

Typically, symptoms indicating an angina attack are the following:

• pain in the chest space of a pressing or burning nature;
• irradiation of pain to the left (less often right) arm, left side of the neck, left shoulder, and can also radiate to the area between the shoulder blades or to the stomach;
• sometimes nausea occurs.

The following symptoms are typical for a pre-infarction state:

• increased heart pain;
• long-term continuous pain syndrome;
• shortness of breath, interruptions in heart function;
• sudden weakness throughout the body;
• swelling of the lower extremities;
• a growing feeling of anxiety;
• sweating;
• pallor of the skin.

In some cases, the manifestations of myocardial infarction are atypical. This happens in patients with diabetes and in older people. Often such patients complain of difficulty breathing, abdominal pain, a feeling of general weakness, and dizziness.

Differences between men and women

Heart problems can vary significantly depending on the gender of the patient. That is, both women and men have their own characteristics of the disease.

It is believed that one of the factors that increases the likelihood of a heart attack is being male. While the development of pathology in women is characterized by absolutely specific symptoms of the disease.

Diagnostics

An anginal attack is diagnosed based on the patient's complaints, as well as using an electrocardiograph. With its help, the specialist determines the degree of damage. Ultrasound and x-ray examination of the myocardium are also used to make a diagnosis.

If, according to preliminary findings, the patient has been diagnosed with a heart attack, then diagnostic procedures and treatment are carried out simultaneously, since lost time can become a decisive factor. Also, to identify the cause of the pathological condition, the patient is prescribed biochemical blood tests for cholesterol, because the influence of vascular atherosclerosis cannot be ruled out.

Treatment

If a person has an attack of heart disease, you should immediately call an ambulance. But before her arrival, some actions can be performed independently.

First aid at home

Until the ambulance arrives, you need to act according to a certain algorithm. First aid should include the following actions:

Drug therapy

After the patient arrives at the hospital, if Nitroglycerin does not work, intravenous administration of drugs such as Baralgin, Maxigan, Analgin is used. Along with analgesics, antihistamines are also administered, for example Diphenhydramine or Suprastin, as well as drugs with a tranquilizing effect - Relanium, Seduxen. If there is an increase in blood pressure, drugs are prescribed to dilate blood vessels.

Drugs used in the treatment of this disease can be divided into the following groups:

• preparations with Nitroglycerin;
• medications with an analgesic effect (Morphine);
• means for lowering pressure (,);
• diuretics (Chlorthalidone, Furosemide);
• medications that prevent blood clotting (Heparin, Neodicoumarin);
• thrombolytics (Streptokinase, Lanateplase).

Surgical intervention

The advisability of surgery is discussed if the patient was admitted with an acute heart attack. If cardiac arrest has occurred, pacing is used.

Surgeries to diagnose a heart attack may include the following:

It should be noted that surgical intervention can significantly reduce the risk of further complications and stop the development of pathology, but it should be carried out only in the near future after the attack has occurred.

Lifestyle correction

To prevent recurrent heart problems of this nature, you need to adhere to certain rules and carefully monitor your health.

The obligatory condition will be the implementation of the following recommendations:

You should strictly follow all doctor's instructions. Carry out regular weight monitoring and, if necessary, fight extra pounds.

You should also regularly check your blood pressure, glucose and cholesterol levels. It would also be useful to avoid strong emotional stress on the body, and if it was still not possible to prevent stress, be sure to take sedatives.

If you notice alarming symptoms: pain in the heart, sudden sweating, dizziness, you should under no circumstances try to wait them out. Such delay can be very costly.

Even if there is no certainty that the health condition is life-threatening, but at least some of the characteristic symptoms have been noted, it is necessary to contact a specialist who will conduct an examination and diagnostic measures and make an appropriate verdict.