What Is Heart Attack?
Author: K Bakhru
In case angina pectoris is ignored, and the disease is allowed
to progress, the blockage in coronary arteries/or in its
branches may go on increasing. The end-result of such a severe
blockage in coronary arteries/branches would be that the blood
supply of a part of heart muscle (supplied by the respective
branch of coronary artery) may suddenly stop completely leading
to severe damage / injury / necrosis / death of the affected
portion of the heart muscle. However, the patient may directly
go into the stage of heart attack without undergoing the stage
of angina pectoris.
There may be only sudden spasm/narrowing/constriction of a
coronary artery or its branches, either of a normal vessel or
already involved coronary artery as a result of atherosclerosis.
If the spasm is momentary, the patient may get only angina, but
if it is a prolonged one, blood supply of a portion of heart
muscle will suffer adversely, leading to a heart attack.
As regards clinical manifestations in a heart attack, the
patient suddenly gets very severe pain in the centre of the
chest (retrostemal) which may radiate to the left upper arm. In
some cases, the pain may radiate to the back of the chest or
towards the neck/lower jaw. In atypical cases, the pain may only
be present in any of these areas i.e. back of the chest or the
neck, etc.
Unlike the pain in angina, the pain in a heart attack is not
relieved by rest, or by the administration of quick-acting
coronary dilator drugs like glyceryl trinitrate. It may last
more than half an hour, and may be accompanied by profuse
sweating. The pain, truly speaking, may be highly unbearable,
the worst the patient has ever suffered/experienced and may be
only relieved by a strong analgesic/pain-killer. The patient may
even get breathlessness/syncope/vertigo. Some patients may
quickly go into shock called cardiogenic shock which becomes a
grave emergency, and the patient may die if proper aid is not
given. However, a patient may die even instantaneously if the
heart attack is very severe. Hence, after the immediate first
aid he should be shifted to the hospital. Such patients are
treated in an intensive care unit (ICU) of the hospital. The
sooner the patient is given aid, the lesser will be the damage
to the heart. For this reason, in some of the places, there are
mobile cardiac care units. The van, duly-equipped, reaches the
place of emergency in no time, and the patient receives proper
treatment in the van itself on the way to hospital. If some
fatal complications occur on the way, they are also tackled
right in the van. Many lives can be saved with such timely
treatment.
Hence, early diagnosis as well as treatment is important to
save the life of a patient in a case of a heart attack. One must
bear in mind the solitary important warning signal to detect
cases of heart attack, in most of the cases, that whenever there
is pain in chest/difficulty in breathing/syncope (transitory
unconsciousness)/vertigo (dizziness), especially in middle age,
the physician should be consulted for an immediate check-up.
Further, cases of stable/unstable angina pectoris may precede a
heart attack and thus should be considered a most important
early warning signal.
About The Author: Author sites: http://www.herbalremedieslk.com
, http://shabi-home-remedies.blogspot.com ,
http://www.e-self-help.com
Author: K Bakhru
In case angina pectoris is ignored, and the disease is allowed
to progress, the blockage in coronary arteries/or in its
branches may go on increasing. The end-result of such a severe
blockage in coronary arteries/branches would be that the blood
supply of a part of heart muscle (supplied by the respective
branch of coronary artery) may suddenly stop completely leading
to severe damage / injury / necrosis / death of the affected
portion of the heart muscle. However, the patient may directly
go into the stage of heart attack without undergoing the stage
of angina pectoris.
There may be only sudden spasm/narrowing/constriction of a
coronary artery or its branches, either of a normal vessel or
already involved coronary artery as a result of atherosclerosis.
If the spasm is momentary, the patient may get only angina, but
if it is a prolonged one, blood supply of a portion of heart
muscle will suffer adversely, leading to a heart attack.
As regards clinical manifestations in a heart attack, the
patient suddenly gets very severe pain in the centre of the
chest (retrostemal) which may radiate to the left upper arm. In
some cases, the pain may radiate to the back of the chest or
towards the neck/lower jaw. In atypical cases, the pain may only
be present in any of these areas i.e. back of the chest or the
neck, etc.
Unlike the pain in angina, the pain in a heart attack is not
relieved by rest, or by the administration of quick-acting
coronary dilator drugs like glyceryl trinitrate. It may last
more than half an hour, and may be accompanied by profuse
sweating. The pain, truly speaking, may be highly unbearable,
the worst the patient has ever suffered/experienced and may be
only relieved by a strong analgesic/pain-killer. The patient may
even get breathlessness/syncope/vertigo. Some patients may
quickly go into shock called cardiogenic shock which becomes a
grave emergency, and the patient may die if proper aid is not
given. However, a patient may die even instantaneously if the
heart attack is very severe. Hence, after the immediate first
aid he should be shifted to the hospital. Such patients are
treated in an intensive care unit (ICU) of the hospital. The
sooner the patient is given aid, the lesser will be the damage
to the heart. For this reason, in some of the places, there are
mobile cardiac care units. The van, duly-equipped, reaches the
place of emergency in no time, and the patient receives proper
treatment in the van itself on the way to hospital. If some
fatal complications occur on the way, they are also tackled
right in the van. Many lives can be saved with such timely
treatment.
Hence, early diagnosis as well as treatment is important to
save the life of a patient in a case of a heart attack. One must
bear in mind the solitary important warning signal to detect
cases of heart attack, in most of the cases, that whenever there
is pain in chest/difficulty in breathing/syncope (transitory
unconsciousness)/vertigo (dizziness), especially in middle age,
the physician should be consulted for an immediate check-up.
Further, cases of stable/unstable angina pectoris may precede a
heart attack and thus should be considered a most important
early warning signal.
About The Author: Author sites: http://www.herbalremedieslk.com
, http://shabi-home-remedies.blogspot.com ,
http://www.e-self-help.com
