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Tips on Recognizing and Preventing Heart Attacks

September 06, 2007|Charles Crase, M.D.

Each year, 1.1 million Americans suffer heart attacks. For one-third of these people, their first and only warning sign is sudden death. The two-thirds who survive may experience congestive heart failure, abnormal heart rhythms and the emotional burden of being diagnosed with heart disease. By addressing risk factors and recognizing symptoms right away, you can help lower your chance of developing or dying from a heart attack.

Heart attacks occur when the blood supply to part of the heart muscle is severely reduced or stopped. It can be caused by a blood clot. If the blood supply is cut off severely for a long time, muscle cells suffer irreversible damage and die, depending on how much the heart muscle is damaged.

The major risk factors for coronary heart disease are:

â?¢Increasing age: About four out of five people who die of coronary heart disease are ages 65 or older.

â?¢Gender: Men have a greater risk of heart attack than women, and they have attacks earlier in life. At older ages, women who have heart attacks are twice as likely as men to die from them within a few weeks.

â?¢Heredity (including race): Children of parents with heart disease are more likely to develop it themselves. African Americans have more severe hypertension than whites and, consequently, are at greater risk.

â?¢Smoking: A smoker's risk of heart attack is more than twice that of non-smokers.

â?¢High cholesterol: The risk of coronary heart disease rises as blood cholesterol levels rise.

â?¢Physical inactivity: Regular, moderate-to-vigorous exercise plays a significant role in preventing heart and blood vessel disease.

â?¢Body weight: People with excess body fat are more likely to develop heart disease and stroke, even if they have no other risk factors.

â?¢Diabetes: This condition seriously increases the risk of developing cardiovascular disease.

The primary symptom of a heart attack is pain or a feeling of heavy pressure in the chest, which might spread to the arms, neck, jaw or back. There may be nausea, dizziness and/or difficulty breathing. The symptoms may feel like indigestion or heartburn. Only trained medical personnel can tell for sure if an individual's symptoms are a heart attack. This is why prompt treatment during a heart attack can dramatically reduce damage to the heart. If you or someone you're with experiences any of these warning signs, don't wait. Get immediate medical attention. Call 911 or your local emergency number for help.

Some people make excuses for their symptoms and do not act quickly enough. Knowing the warning signs of a heart attack and acting immediately can significantly increase your chances of survival. By following the above tips, you can save your life.

Dr. Charles Crase is a family practice physician who practices at Immediate Care & Diagnostic Services at Stanford Medical Park, a service of Ephraim McDowell Health.

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