Heart attack - What should you know?

Heart attacks – Facts, statistics and how to keep them at bay!

Amongst the most common health issues that affect people all over the world, heart attacks or cardiovascular diseases are perhaps the most typically prevailing ones, deeming it all the more necessary for people to learn how to stop heart attack. These are basically a form of ischemic heart disease, which are known to be amongst the leading causes of death worldwide. When a person suffers from a heart attack, it is basically the blood supply to part of his or her heart that gets interrupted. As a result, there is a severe shortage of oxygen, which causes major damage to the heart tissue, and has the tendency to kill it as well.

Risk factors for heart attacks
There are many risk factors associated with the prevalence of heart attacks. A few of them are:

•  Having previously suffered from a heart attack or stroke
•   Having a history of vascular disease or angina
•  Aging, as you get older the risk increases
•  Smoking
•  Ingesting excessive amounts of alcohol, moderate alcohol is protective
• Drug abuse such as cocaine
• Obesity
•  Extremely low good cholesterol or high bad cholesterol
• Intensive levels of stress
• High blood pressure
• Diabetes

Heart attack statistics

Cardiovascular diseases truly are one of America’s leading health issues – and a leading cause of death as well. Research shows that nearly one out of every three deaths is caused by a heart attack. Considering the larger picture, it is believed that 250,000 Americans die on a yearly basis because of Sudden Cardiac Death. This means. That 680 people die of this condition on A DAILY BASIS, and one half of these deaths are of individuals who are under 65-years of age!

At the moment, amongst all of the Americans who are alive right now, around 7.9 million are those who have suffered from a heart attack, and nearly 80 million of all Americans suffer from one or more types of cardiovascular diseases.

What are the symptoms of heart attacks?

A heart attack triggers many different symptoms. However, what you need to bear in mind is the basic fact that the symptoms of heart attack suffered by young and middle age men greatly differ from those that are suffered by women, diabetic patients and old people. The worst part about nearly one third of all heart attacks is that they are ‘silent’ – this means that they do not trigger any associated symptoms at all.

The symptoms of heart attack include feeling very sick all of a sudden,

• Chest pain
• Anxiety
• Sweating
• A feeling of impending doom
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Palpitations ( Racing of the heart)
• Shortness of breath.

On the other hand, the heart attack symptoms in the diabetics, females and elderly may also be including shortness of breath, fatigue, and a general feeling of being very weak.

What you need to do to stop heart attack

If you truly do wish to live a long and healthy life, it is necessary for you to make a few efforts that would in turn help you stop heart attacks. Here are a few things that you can do to keep heart attacks at bay:

1. Quit smoking right away – If you are a smoker, start weaning off on the number of cigarettes that you smoke. However, if you smoke rather infrequently, it’s best for you to drop it cold turkey.

2. Regular exercises are a must – Irrespective of whether you are obese or not, it is necessary for you to exercise on a regular basis. Basically, you just need physical activity that would keep you active and exercise for at least 30 minutes on a daily basis. Focus on taking up a rather active approach towards life.

3. Keep an eye on your weight – You need to keep a strict eye over your weight, for the simple fact that overweight people are prone to heart attacks.

4. Eat well - Avoid trans fat and saturated fats. Saturated fats are present in butter, red meat and whole milk. Try monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats such as olive oil, canola oil and nuts

Copyright © 2013 by Radhakrishnan Ramaraj 

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