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What Is A Heart Attack?
The term "heart attack" is often used to refer to signs and
symptoms that result from the sudden blockage of blood flow to
a portion of the heart. Without good blood flow, the heart
does not receive enough oxygen and begins to die.
People suffering a heart attack may experience symptoms
such as chest pain, sweating, nausea, weakness, and shortness
of breath. Each year about 1.5 million Americans have heart
attacks. Heart disease remains the leading cause of death in
the United States for both men and women.
Heart attack is the common term for a "myocardial
infarction." This refers to the permanent damage done to the
heart muscle, or myocardium, when blood flow is blocked. A
heart attack most commonly happens when a blood vessel that
brings blood to the heart is suddenly blocked by a blood
clot.
While heart attacks usually come on suddenly, it's really
the result of a process that takes years to develop. Over
time, a person's blood vessels may become hardened and
narrowed by the buildup of cholesterol and other fatty
substances. Reducing risk factors for coronary
artery disease - such as high cholesterol or high
blood pressure - is an important way to prevent a first or
subsequent heart attack.
A heart attack usually occurs over several hours. Fast
action is the best weapon against a heart attack. If a person
is treated during the first two hours after a heart attack,
early treatments can improve outcomes.
For example, medications called "clot busters" can break
down a blood clot blocking a coronary artery, restoring blood
flow to the heart and even preventing or reducing the amount
of permanent damage done to the heart. In addition, preventing
or treating serious abnormal heart rhythms that may occur with
a heart attack are an important ways of saving
lives.
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Need To Know:
A heart attack is a serious condition. But early
treatment can improve the outcome by reducing the amount
of heart muscle that is damaged and decreasing or
preventing complications of a heart attack. Minutes
count! If you or someone you know suspects a heart
attack, get emergency medical help right away.
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The coronary arteries supply the heart muscle with oxygen and
nutrients. The word "coronary" means a crown, and is the name
given to the arteries that circle the heart like a crown.
Coronary artery disease (CAD) is the most common form of
heart disease.
Coronary heart disease develops when one or more of the
coronary arteries that supply the blood to the heart become
narrower than they used to be, due to the buildup of
cholesterol and other substances in the wall of the artery,
affecting the blood flow to the heart muscle. Without an
adequate blood supply, heart muscle tissue can be damaged.
Deposits of cholesterol and other fat-like
substances can build up in the inner lining of these blood
vessels and become coated with scar tissue, forming a
cholesterol-rich bump in the blood vessel wall known as
plaque. Plaque buildup narrows and hardens the
blood vessel, a process called
atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries.
Eventually these plaque deposits can build up to
significantly reduce or block blood flow to the heart. A
person may experience chest pain or discomfort from inadequate
blood flow to the heart, especially during exercise when the
heart needs more oxygen. This type of chest pain is called
angina.
Angina is the body's warning sign that the heart is
being overworked. It can be experienced in a variety of
ways.
- Angina usually manifests as a feeling of pain, pressure,
or tightness in the middle chest, especially behind the
sternum (breastbone).
- The sensation may spread to the left shoulder, arm, and
hand, or to the neck, throat, and jaw.
- The attack typically lasts for only a few minutes
An attack of angina does not cause permanent damage to
the heart muscle. This is the main difference between angina
and a heart attack, during which part of the heart muscle
suffers permanent damage (unless the new clot-busting
drugs are given in time).
For more detailed information on angina, go to Angina.
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Facts About Heart Attack
- The adult human heart is about the size of a
clenched fist.
- Hearts have been known to pump for 100 years
without resting more that a second at a time - a feat
unequaled by any man-made device.
- The average heart beats 60 times a minute; 3,600
times an hour; 86,400 per day; 31.5 million per year,
and 2.4 billion in a lifetime.
- In an average lifetime, the heart pumps 1 million
barrels of blood - enough blood to fill 3.3
supertankers - and expends more than enough energy
enough to lift a battleship out of the water.
- In the U.S., about 26.3 million men (27.6 percent)
and 22.7 million women (22.1 percent) are smokers,
putting them at increased risk for a heart attack.
- About 99.5 million American adults have total
blood cholesterol values of 200 mg/dL and higher
(borderline high). About 39.9 million American adults
have total blood cholesterol levels of 240 or above
(high). An elevated blood cholesterol level is a risk
factor for a heart attack.
- As many as 50 million Americans have high blood
pressure, which places them at risk for a heart
attack.
- About every 29 seconds, an American will
experience a heart problem.
- It's estimated that 7.2 million Americans age 20
and older have a history of a heart attack (4.4
million men and 2.8 million women).
- Each year, about 1.1 million Americans are
expected to have a new or recurrent coronary attack.
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