The American Heart Association, also known as the AHA, states that, about every 34 seconds, a person suffers from a heart attack, and that is in the United States alone. A heart attack happens when arteries that supply the heart with blood becomes narrow due to a buildup of cholesterol, fat or some other substances. This blood clot prevents the oxygen from flowing, thus creating tissue damage as well as tissue death to the heart muscle. While most people equate heart attack with old age, the truth is, heart attack chooses no age and can be quite fatal. However, many people have come to survive it. One of the factors that increased the likelihood of these people surviving a heart attack is their knowledge of what signs to watch out for.
The Signs
The most common symptoms of heart attack are chest pain and profuse sweating. Keep in mind though that the warning signs could vary from person to person and not everyone will get to experience chess pain. This makes it important to learn the other signs. After all, the main denominator of every heart attack remains to be early treatment to have less damage.
Heart Foundation of Australia has listed more warning signs on heart attack. Aside from the very common sign of pain in the chest, a person may also feel tightness or a crushing sensation in the chest. This may leave a person feeling restless. Other symptoms include pain in the jaw, choking feeling in the neck, discomfort in the shoulders, back pains specifically the portion between the shoulder blades and the feeling of heaviness of the arms. A person may also feel nauseous and dizzy or experience shortness of breath and produce cold sweat.
To make sure that you do not have to go through these symptoms, it is important to have a change in one’s lifestyle. Eating healthy and getting active through physical activities are advisable. Reducing the intake of sugar and controlling cholesterol will prevent clogged arteries; managing blood pressure is beneficial in reducing stress in heart and arteries. If you are the kind of person who cannot resist consuming a stick of cigarette every now and than, consider either turning cold turkey or, at least, minimizing your consumption per day. Keep in mind that most heart attacks take place because the heart is unable to receive the right amount of oxygen.
Being at risk for heart attack is a major issue. That being the case, it is only right that you make sure you, as well as the people around you, have what it takes to deal with any kind of scenario. Some of the things that you should consider would include enrolling yourself or those around you in a CPR training class. Citywide CPR provides such training programs. You should also consider getting your hands on an AED unit. This nifty electronic device works great for those who do not have enough knowledge on how to perform a proper CPR. Most units come with visual as well as oral instructions on what needs to be done. It can also help in determining whether you would need chest compression first or an electric jolt.
