Basic Things to Know about Heart Attack

Myocardial infarction (MI), or simply known as heart attack, is a medical condition that is basically characterized by a permanent malfunction or damage to the heart muscle as a result of lack of blood supply to certain tissues. It should be understood that the heart muscles need consistent supply of oxygen that is contained in the blood that flows in and out of it. This oxygen-rich blood is carried by the coronary arteries that when become narrow and clogged, as a result of coronary artery disease, it accumulates inflammatory cells, fatty particles, and other unwanted matters into plaques of various sizes. Once blood clots into a narrowed and clogged artery, there will be insufficient supply of blood in the heart muscles and would eventually malfunction, leading to heart attack.

Common symptoms of heart attack include discomfort or unusual pressure and pain in the arms, below the breastbone, and/or chest. There could also be the feeling of indigestion, dizziness, and vomiting. Meanwhile, many heart attack sufferers experience extreme tiredness, shortness or difficulty of breathing, and anxiety. Irregular and rapid heartbeats along with the discomfort radiating feeling at the back, throat, or jaw are common symptoms of this heart disease as well. When experiencing any of these symptoms, it is best to consult a medical expert immediately before taking any form of uncertain medication. You could also prefer to follow several proven safe remedies if necessary.

How about if you get caught in a situation where a person with you – maybe one of the important persons in your life – gets caught by heart attack? Well, the very best thing you can do is to quickly determine if there is any available medical expert to assist you with. If not, you are advised to call for emergency medical service right away and then give your best shot to save that person’s life – by doing cardiopulmonary resuscitation or CPR. Yes, although you don’t know anything about this kind of first aid, the American Heart Association (AHA) and other related health organizations encourage anyone to at least do something while waiting for the necessary medical assistance. Take note that every bit of a second counts and there is a little chance that your attempt to save the patient through CPR would be a success.

In order to become prepared and responsible enough to prevent losing your loved one’s life because of heart attack, medical experts suggests everyone to learn at least a thing or two about proper CPR. That’s why several health organizations have already provided free sessions of basic CPR training for everyone. Other than that, many of such institutions have provided free- and ready-to-use automated external defibrillators (AEDs), mounted on public places. These could be readily use in case someone within the vicinity suddenly gets caught by a medical condition that requires CPR. The use of AED is actually now a part of professional CPR practice because this could further increase the success rate on saving a person’s life. To know what it is in a CPR training, simply visit citywidecpr.com. Get yourself prepared now!

How an Automated External Defibrillator Basically Works

Other than doing cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), it is also very important to effectively make use of an automated external defibrillator or AED. There is a diverse range of AED types, brands, and models but all these have one feature in common – to provide the most appropriate amount of electrical joules to a person whose heart stopped pumping oxygenated blood in and out. It’s up for the patient or the person living with one at risk of heart disease to choose which one perfectly suits for his specific medical condition.

An AED is an electronic and computer-based emergency medical device that was basically designed with defibrillator pads where pulses of electric energy are released. Most types have voice prompts and/or visual displays that indicate the necessary electric shock to be used to regenerate the malfunctioning heart of the patient. For fully automatic AEDs, you no longer need to decide whether or not and when to release the analyzed amount of electric shock while for the semi-automatic ones, the machine would wait for your input before doing so. When it comes to defibrillator pads, various sizes and shapes are featured according to the type of patient the device is intended to. There are multi-purpose AEDs while there are some dedicated for specific type of patients.

It is very important to use the AED properly. You have to be careful when handling the defibrillator pads; unwanted electric shocks could occur if you hold these recklessly. Make sure that the pads won’t get in contact with each other while applying these to the patient’s chest. Don’t even try to pump these against each other if you don’t know how to do what the medical experts do for testing this device. Apart from that, improper use of the pads could also result to erroneous reading of the patient’s heart rhythm and other related vital signs. As much as possible, avoid operating the device in a crowded place. Ask the people around to provide enough space for the patient so you can properly use the AED and to avoid risks of accident concerning the device.

At the same time, you have to make sure that there is no any foreign object, even dust, to get into it. Keep the device away from any type of liquid as well as to magnets. You should also avoid magnetic exposure, EM radiations, and extreme temperature to your AED. Of course, it is essential to keep your AED clean and well-maintained. See the device’s user manual to know the safety measures on cleaning it and doing necessary repairs or maintenance.

To learn further information on using and maintaining an automated external defibrillator, it is best to go for AED Management Program and AED Medical Oversight courses. Take a tour at citywidecpr.com to see what these courses are all about as well as to know more about CPR and AED. This website also provides necessary information on choosing training institutions for such emergency medical services. Go for AED Management Program and AED Medical Oversight training now!

Maintain a Healthy Heart: Go for Regular Exercise

It has been concluded by medical experts that living a sedentary lifestyle is among the greatest factors resulting to a heart disease. People in this kind of lifestyle are usually those who are fond of getting their selves soaked in front of the computer or TV set. They seemingly don’t like to move a muscle while enjoying their stuffs. As a result, their bodies eventually develop poor blood circulation in their cardiovascular system. They are also likely to suffer to inappropriate blood pressure levels, mostly manifested by difficulty in getting quality breath and other related respiratory problems.

These and more obviously lead to the conclusion that regular exercise for the cardiovascular system is a must. There are several advisable physical activities for the heart to choose from. One of these is swimming, which is a good option if you are living in a warm-climate environment. This type of exercise strengthens and tones your heart muscles as you try to move around through water resistance. If any swimming area is not available or not easily accessible, then you can settle for a simple brisk walking. It’s up to you if you do this through a treadmill or do this outdoor. Just make sure that you are wearing comfortable and supportive walking shoes while brisk walking. To take it to a higher level, you can go for running as a means of improving your blood circulation and heart strength. It is also a good way of exercising and rebuilding your muscular and skeletal system.

Meanwhile, cycling has become another likeable exercise for the heart and other cardiovascular organs. You can go for miles if you want, as long as you monitor for yourself your heart’s condition while doing this kind of exercise. Same goes when you prefer to have interval or circuit training to improve your heart’s health. For a lighter way of preventing risks of heart disease, you can go for yoga exercises and meditation. This is an effective solution for many to get rid of stress, which is a common factor that triggers various heart problems. Look for yoga and meditation videos that you can follow and so you can do this kind of physical activity by yourself.

Other than securing a healthy heart or reconditioning your cardiovascular system, it is also advisable to know a thing or two about CPR or cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Heart diseases may occur suddenly and could be in its extremity, which is a crucial situation when there is no available medical assistance for the patient. Hence, the American Heart Association (AHA) has been promoting the importance of learning CPR as a means of getting prepared and secured against threats of heart disease, not only for yourself but also for your loved ones.

If you want to know more about CPR, you are very much welcome to join Citywide’s CPR training. Just visit citywidecpr.com to get a glimpse of how its CPR training courses and other emergency medical services trainings could be a significant weapon against life threatening heart conditions.

Suggested Essential Food Nutrients for the Heart

One of the simplest, yet most important ways to take care of your heart is to settle for a healthy diet. This would require a lot of patience, self-control, and determination in order to attain the necessary reconstruction or rejuvenation of your heart’s health. Most of all, it would be a big help if you set a positive mindset by always looking at the bright side of anything that comes along the way; you need to bear in mind that you will be doing this to decrease the chances of suffering from crucial heart conditions.

It has been said that omega-3 fatty acid is an essential nutrient for a healthy heart. Indeed, this type of food nutrient is good for the heart as it can minimize inflammation in coronary arteries, thus preventing stoppage on the flow of oxygenated blood to and from the heart. Along with docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)and eicopentaenoic acid (EPA), omega-3 fats also help prevent blood to clot within the arteries and so it keep your cholesterol and blood pressure at appropriate levels. Salmon, tuna, and sardines are among the common sources of these healthy fatty acids. Other suggested foods include ground flaxseed, oatmeal, black (or kidney) beans, almonds, and walnuts.

Another helpful food nutrient for the heart is quarcetin, which is a flavonoid derived from plants that contain natural anti-inflammatory properties. It is also an essential nutrient for preventing blood clots, which could significantly lower chances of getting cardiovascular or coronary heart disease. Meanwhile, it would be nice to include green leafy vegetables that are rich in folate into your diet as well. Folate contributes in maintaining healthy homocysteine levels in your body to lessen the risk of heart attacks, strokes, and other vascular diseases. Some folate-rich vegetables are Swiss chard, spinach, romaine lettuce, and kale.

Adding to the said important nutrients for a healty heart are coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10), monounsaturated fats, L-carnitine, lycopene, magnesium, polyphenols, and reservatol. It is best to consult your physician and dietrician to determine the most advisable food items that are rich in any of these food nutrients. Don’t put too much trust on tips and advice of non-medical experts. Much better, take further research on the foods that are rich in the said nutrients before you decide to include them in your healthy diet.

If you happen to live with a person suffering from certain heart disease, it would be a big help to know a thing or two about performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation. The American Heart Association suggests any immediate respondent to perform CPR to the sufferer whenever there is no medical assistance available at the moment. By doing CPR, there is a chance that you prolong the loss of the patient’s life and if performed well, the patient could regain normal breathing and heart functions. See citywidecpr.com to know what it is in a CPR training. Once you have gone through a CPR training course, you will be more confident and prepared whenever the need of emergency medical assistance for your loved one comes in.

Highlights in the History of CPR

It is nice to get a glimpse of how cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) started and developed, knowing the fact that it is a useful life-saver first aid practice that could be done by anyone. With this simple knowledge, you would be able to find out the prescribed way to perform CPR as well as other important related facts that could maximize the chances of the survival of the sufferer.

The first equivocally documented chest compression for humans was performed by Dr. Friedrich Maass in 1981. However, it was only in 1903 when Dr. George Crile successfully saved a person’s life through this first aid practice. He was also the first American to perform closed-chest cardiac massage, a year after that. Years went on and CPR was finally developed and taught to people by the American Heart Association in 1960. The year 1972 marked the program Medic 2, which was the world’s first mass citizen CPR training, which was held in Seattle, Washington. It was then in the 1990s when the early Public Access Defibrillation programs were initiated to host trainings and provide resources to the public so they would have something to use as an aid when doing CPR for emergency cases.

In 1999, the first task force for CPR as first aid was appointed and the first internal conference on CPR and ECC guidelines were developed. With the help of ILCOR, the American Heart Association released statements on proper and safe use of automated external defibrillators (AEDs) for children, especially those aging 8 years old and below. The 2005 American Heart Association Guidelines for CPR and ECC was then released by the 2005 International Consensus on ECC and CPR Science with Treatment Recommendations (CoSTR). Three years later, the AHA promoted the Hands-Only CPR that encourages anyone, including bystanders who serve as the immediate witness of any case of sudden collapse of a sufferer.

In the 50th Anniversary of CPR in 2010, the AHA revised the CPR and ECC Guidelines to include the latest developments in CPR practice along with other innovations brought by the latest technologies and scientific studies.  To date, more and more people are becoming aware on the importance of knowing the prescribed means of performing CPR to a patient. This is probably one of the major effects of the worsening statistics of sudden cardiac arrest and other life-threatening heart diseases all over the world. Many ordinary people are now also becoming knowledgeable enough on the purpose and basic operation of AEDs, which are conveniently mounted on several important public places and made available for emergency cases.

Become one of the said people now. Don’t wait for the day where one of your loved ones loses his life just because you are not able to perform the necessary CPR to save him. Check out several institutions for emergency medical services where you can acquire a CPR training course. You can consider CityWide CPR if you are looking for one that provides excellent CPR training that maximizes your potentials as a life-saver in the best way possible.

A Few Things to Keep in Mind to Save a Person’s Life through CPR

Because of the widening age bracket of people suffering from sudden cardiac arrest, the American Heart Association has become more dedicated to pursue their programs on CPR awareness. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation or CPR is a simple first aid practice that could save the life of any person who undergoes an emergency cardiac condition when applied earlier. The problem is that many people are still hesitant enough to take a little time to know at least a thing or two about the prescribed way of doing CPR. Hence, these people eventually become helpless when they happen to be supposedly the immediate responder to a person suffering from such life threatening condition.

You have to keep in mind that the success rate of CPR basically depends on the immediate responder’s response and recognition. Of course, chances would be significantly higher when he is able to seek help from a professional rescuer who can provide pre-hospital care. As the lay responder, the first things you have to check during your initial assessment on the patient are his consciousness, pulse, and other signs of movement and breathing. Check also whether there is severe bleeding. Doing this assessment could help you come up with the most appropriate immediate action to save the patient’s life. Additionally, make sure to wear the available protective gears when you are planning to use an automated external defibrillator or AED to enhance the success rate of CPR.

To do CPR, you first allow enough space around the patient if possible. This first aid primarily involves external chest compressions that are done at a cycle of 100 times each minute. Each chest compression is ideally 5cm deep or greater. However, make sure that you are not breaking the person’s ribs, especially when the patient is a little kid. If you are comfortable enough, you can apply mouth-to-mouth resuscitation as part of CPR after finding out that chest compressions alone could not resolve the case. You could also prefer to use an AED if available within the area. This emergency medical device is basically intended to revive the operation of the heart of the patient during his seizure.

If one of your loved ones unfortunately suffers from certain heart condition that could attack anytime, it is strongly suggested to learn the prescribed CPR practices and the professional use of AEDs. There are several training centers intended for emergency medical services that offer CPR training as well as other related courses for saving a person’s life from such crucial heart conditions.

You can simply take advantage of the power of the web to find out the training centers around your area. Citywide CPR, a prestigious training center accredited by the American Heart Association, is among the institutions where you can acquire the best training programs for professional CPR. To find the training course that suits best to your needs and preferences, simply visit its official website and key in your inquiries, if there any. Get into a professional CPR training course now and find your way to become an official and prepared lifesaver.

Knowing the Proper use of AED

Knowledge on CPR could serve as a weapon to save the life of an emergency cardiac condition sufferer. As a matter of fact, anyone is now encouraged to take action as an immediate responder when faced into a between-life-and-death scenario for a heart disease victim. Each second wasted by not doing any first aid to the sufferer significantly decreases his chances to survive from the life threatening condition. However, it should be noted that even though you know CPR and apply it immediately, there is still a high tendency that the patient would lose his life.

As a solution, various health organizations now promote the use of automated external defibrillators or AEDs as a means of enhancing the effectiveness of CPR. This computer-based medical equipment is either fully automated or semi-automated and has the primary purpose of applying electric energy to the malfunctioning heart of the victim. It has the ability to read the heart rhythm of the patient and automatically determine the necessary magnitude of electric energy to be applied on the malfunctioning heart. In this way, the abnormality in the heart’s operation is being disrupted until the heart regains its normal operability. Proper and safe use of this medical device is highly required, however, in order to avoid unwanted complications and accidents.

When using an AED, make sure that the patient’s chest is dry by wiping it. Never use alcohol for wiping because it is a flammable substance. It is also not a good idea to touch the patient while the AED is making an analysis on his heart as it could affect the reading. Doing so could result to unwanted electric shock as well. In addition, it is not advisable to use the device when there is a flammable or combustible material nearby, especially in a gas station. Using the device while inside a moving vehicle is not practical also as it can come up with an erroneous result because of the erratic movement. In addition, avoid operating an AED when there is a mobile phone or radio device within the 6ft radius.

The American Heart Association is among the several health organizations that promote the awareness on the significance of learning how to use an AED as a life-saver medical device. They encourage everyone to be knowledgeable and prepared enough to operate this equipment, especially when there is a loved one who is prone to sudden cardiac arrest. Citywide CPR is just one of the emergency medical services training centers that offer AED Medical Oversight and AED Program Management training courses for anyone. Just check out their official website to see the details on these programs and more about prescribed use of various types of AEDs. You can also find other CPR and life-saving courses in this reputable medical training center.

It’s a good thing that you can get into online AED Medical Oversight and AED Program Management training programs. Visit Citywide CPR now and start your way to become one of the responsible life savers for heart disease sufferers in your community.

What Makes Learning CPR So Important?

It’s too bad that there are still many people who don’t appreciate or are just not aware on the significance of knowing at least the basics of CPR. That is why according to the recent statistics, about 70% of people in the US are troubled and feeling hopeless whenever they encounter a cardiac emergency, especially when they happen to be supposedly the immediate responder. This is more alarming when the life threatening situation takes place at home where most likely no one else is around to provide the necessary first aid for the sufferer.

Every year, the National CPR Week is held on June to call out on all Americans and encourage them to get into a training course for CPR, particularly the Hands-Only CPR. The American Heart Association leads the programs and promotions for CPR awareness. They provide a simple 1-minute online video for everyone to learn what cardiopulmonary resuscitation is all about and how it could be optimized to save a person’s life from an emergency cardiac case. Other health organizations also collaborate with AHA and do their own programs as well to help fight this number one killer in the country.

There are a total of around 383,000 sudden cardiac arrest cases that occur outside a hospital or any medical care establishment. In fact, around 88% of cardiac arrest of these cases happens at home rather than in a public place. Every second counts for the life-saver. The more you prolong the sufferer’s condition without applying any first aid, the less likely his survival. Sudden cardiac arrest and other similar heart conditions could occur to both men and women of a wide range of age, but most likely to adults. Who knows? Maybe your loved one who suffers from such life-threatening heart disease could be the next victim.

Heart diseases could be triggered by several factors, including excessive cholesterol and caffeine intake, injury that affects the cardiovascular system, and other diseases that degrade the heart’s functionality and quality of blood. As the saying goes, it is much better to secure prevention rather than to wait until you badly need the cure for it. Thus, people undergoing any sort of life-threatening heart condition are encouraged to turn into healthy living. Other than that, it is also important for anyone to know how to perform basic CPR in order to be prepared enough to become an immediate respondent when faced into such emergency situation. This is primarily composed of external chest compressions that are done at a prescribed depth and timing. Additionally, the knowledge on using an AED is very helpful in maximizing the victim’s chances for survival.

Start your CPR training right away while your loved one is still not in a between-life-and-death situation. Remember that AHA encourages anyone to become a lifesaver even by simply applying Hands-Only CPR as immediate medical aid for the victim. How much more if you are the only one who are with the person under attacked by sudden cardiac arrest? Check out more details about CPR at citywidecpr.com where you could also get into an online CPR training course.

Important Notes on Using an AED for Heart Disease Victims

The placement of AEDs in public places has been of great help to increase the survival chances of a person who unexpectedly suffers to sudden cardiac arrest or any similar life-threatening heart condition. Thanks to the American Heart Association (AHA) and other institutions that support the campaign of saving the lives of people who suffer from and at risk to certain heart diseases. However, it would be a big plus if people are more aware of the purpose of an AED and knowledgeable on how to use this life-saving electronic device.

An automated external defibrillator or AED is basically a computerized medical device intended to provide the electric joules needed by the human heart that ceased from functioning during the attack of a heart disease. In other words, this electronic life-saver equipment could be used to disrupt the abnormal activity of the heart and help resume its normal operation. It is a useful aid for maximizing the success rate of CPR or cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Thus, it is best to learn how this electronic device functions and how to optimize its usefulness when it comes to reviving the sufferer’s heart during sudden cardiac arrest.

To start with, switch on the AED and just follow the instructions delivered by the voice prompt along with the visual prompts. You have to wipe the sufferer’s chest to dry it out before applying the device’s pads that will deliver the necessary electric shock to the heart. Use only the prescribed AED pads for children and for adults. For the adult sufferers, just place one pad on his lower left chest and the other pad on his upper right chest. Make sure that the pads don’t touch each other and that nobody touches the victim’s body when this device is used. For children, you can place one pad on the middle of his chest while the other is on his back between the shoulder blades.

Most AEDs today have the ‘analyze’ button. Press this to trigger the device to analyze the sufferer’s heart rhythm and determine the most appropriate amount of electric shock to be applied. If the device indicates that there’s no need to apply electric shock, it means you have to apply 5 cycles of CPR for about 2 minutes. Follow also the further instructions indicated by the device’s voice and visual prompts. When given the chance, it is also advisable to seek help, especially from medical experts or any qualified CPR practitioner while doing the immediate aid for the victim.

If you want to know more about the proper use of AEDs and other related details, get yourself into a training course for AED Medical Oversight and AED Program Management. This would help you become prepared enough and much more knowledgeable as a responsible life-saver for people suffering from crucial heart conditions. You can prefer to settle for an online course, but it would be better to have it onsite. Visit the official site of CityWide CPR to find out what makes an excellent AED Medical Oversight and AED Program Management training program.

Getting to Know More of the Human Heart to Minimize Risks of a Heart Disease

One should know that the human heart holds one of the most crucial processes in the body and that’s why when something’s wrong in it, the life of the sufferer likely comes to be at risk. Clinical studies show that heart diseases are among the leading killers, not only for the old ones but now to men and women of a wide age range. So, if you want to protect your loved ones suffering from a certain heart condition, you better take time to know at least a thing or two about the human heart and how to take good care of it.

The human heart of an average adult typically beats at a rate of 72 beats per minute, which is equivalent to a total of around 2.5 billion times throughout a person’s lifetime. When it is considered healthy, it has a normal weight of more or less 11 ounces and it could pump about 2,000 gallons of blood through 60,000 miles accumulated length of blood vessels every day. It has the ability to continue beating when separated from the body, provided that there is an adequate supply of oxygen. About 75 trillion human cells receive the blood pumped by the heart and around 15% to 20% of these are in the brain and other organs in the body’s central nervous system. In fact, the heart performs the most physical work of any human muscle in a person’s lifetime. The energy it provides to the body throughout an average lifetime is about 2.5 gigajoules, which is equivalent to the energy needed to drive a big truck for 20 miles.

Among the common factors that lead to a heart malfunction is the prolonged lack of sleep. It can cause premature ventricular contractions (PVCs), which are primarily manifested by irregular jumping heartbeats. Heavy snoring could also negatively affect the heart because of the condition called obtrusive sleep apnea (OSA). Meanwhile, cocaine is an extremely harmful substance to the human heart as it disrupts the electrical activity of the heart and results to spasm of the arteries that eventually leads to heart attack or stroke. Stressful situations are also likely to trigger irregularities in the functionality of the heart and other cardiovascular organs. In addition, excessive cholesterol build-ups in the body are another heart disease factor as well.

In order to maintain a healthy heart, you should avoid fatty and oil foods, except for some that are considered good for the heart like Omega 3 oil. It is best to stick to fresh fruits and vegetables, along with plenty of water every day. Also, it would be of great help when you do your best to secure enough of sleep and rest and to avoid stressful scenarios as much as possible. Another important thing is the knowledge on how to do cardiopulmonary resuscitation or CPR, which is a first-aid practice that could be used to save the life of a heart disease sufferer. More and more people are now into CPR training as a result of the campaign of the American Heart Association. Check out citywidecpr.com to see how to get into an extensive CPR training.