If you notice that you feel out of breath, extremely tired and under the weather, these may be symptoms of a heart attack (aka myocardial infarction). Myocardial infarctions remain the main cause of death for both men and women in the U.S.
What Causes a Heart Attack?
A myocardial infarction typically occurs when a blood clot forms and blocks the blood flow to the heart. The inability of the blood to reach the heart leads to tissue death:The tissues die because they have been deprived of oxygen.
When an individual experiences a myocardial infarction, it is considered a medical emergency and, according to the American Heart Association, every second counts. Therefore, if you are experiencing any of the signs and/or symptoms listed below, you could be having a heart attack and you need to call 9-1-1 right away.
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This discomfort can be in the form of pain (dull or sharp), a burning sensation, pressure, tightness (feels like there is a clenched fist in your chest) and/or feeling as if there is a heavy weight on your chest.
It is important to note that you do not need to be experiencing all of the signs and symptoms listed below to be having a heart attack. When in doubt, don't take a chance, just call 9-1-1.
Possible symptoms of a heart attack:
Feeling dizzy or lightheaded. Having shortness of breath (particularly if at rest). Experiencing pain or discomfort in your jaw, shoulder, shoulder blades, neck, left arm, upper abdomen, throat and/or back. Laboring to breathe or heavy breathing (especially if at rest). Sensing impending doom. Feeling nauseous. Experiencing heartburn/indigestion. Vomiting. Having clammy-feeling
The chest pain that you will feel is often descrived as squeezing or painful feeling in the chest. Some people who had chest pains also said that they feel discomfort, heaviness, fullness, burning and pressure pain on their chest. Even if it is a common symptom for CAD, many still confused it for indigestion or heartburn, and not for something as severe as CAD. The pain may also radiate to different parts of your body such as in your jaw, throat, neck, shoulders, arms and back.
The most common physiological process leading to a myocardial infarction is the occlusion of coronary arteries by a process known as atherosclerosis. In fact, atherosclerosis is present in more than 90% of persons with coronary heart disease.1
Another word used to describe a heart attack is myocardial infarction, cardiac infarction and coronary thrombosis. A heart attack is the death of a part of the heart caused by the loss of blood supply. The blood supply is usually gone due to a coronary artery being blocked by a blood clot. When a part of a heart artery breaks a blood clot forms around the piece. This blood clot can block the blood flow through the heart muscle. When the heart muscle needs oxygen it is called ischemia. When damage of a part of the heart muscle happens it’s called a heart attack. During a heart attack damage occurs depending on the size of the area blocked by the blood clot as well as the time between the actual heart attack and the treatment. Even though the heart may be hurt, the rest of the organs work with no problems. However, it will not pump as much blood as it used to in order to supply the same amount of blood to all of the parts of the body.
This condition is diagnosed with a medical history and physical exam. You may also have tests, including:
Nausea and chest pain are some symptoms of the coronary artery disease. The coronary artery collects over time plague that causes narrowing of the artery. Due of the narrowing their arteries it causes the blood flow to the heart to be limited or complete
Define the conditions and identify changes (if any) in the blood pressure in the following heart attack (myocardial infraction) damage to an area of heart muscle that is deprived of oxygen, usually due to blockage of a diseased coronary artery, typically accompanied by chest pain radiating down one or both arms, the severity of the attack varying with the extent and location of the damage (dictionary.com). High blood pressure is what happens when you have a heart attack. Because of stress yo9ur blood pressure will go up, you may overeat, you may exercise less and you may be more likely to smoke. Studies also link stress to changes in the way blood clots, which increase risk of heart attack and a stroke. The warning signs are dizziness, general aches and pains. Constant worry, lack of creativity, anger, anxiety, crying, depression, bossiness, compulsive eating (webmd.com)
(Usually) A man collapses to the floor, purple face, following a grimace of agony, and his hand clutching his chest. For Martha Lear, that is exactly the type of heart attack her husband repeatedly suffered from—and eventually killed him. After watching him go through several of these, she believed it to be the standard heart attack normal. It wasn’t until 34 years later that her assumption was challenged—after she suffered from her own heart attack. Her symptoms didn’t match her late husband’s, she describes it as suddenly feeling vaguely unwell, feeling a flutter in her chest which rose to her throat, small pressure in her chest, nausea, chills, diarrhea, and vomiting. A mixed array of symptoms that could be something or could be nothing, symptoms were non-distinct to any layperson. Her second husband assured her it was a stomach bug. When she called her doctor and described her symptoms, he told her she should come in for an EKG the next morning but it wasn’t necessary to rush to the ER but she should come in for an EKG the next morning. She showed up for her appointment the following morning and the EKG revealed that she had a substantial heart attack the night before—stunning both her and her doctor. The differences in treatment between her and her late husband are part of a long trend of women’s cardiac disease not being recognized as easily or treated as well men’s
How would you feel if you were put in a situation where you had to deal with a friend’s cardiovascular attack? Sadly, according to American Heart Association, 70% of Americans would feel helpless in the event of a cardiovascular incident. This is why all Americans, even young, should learn CPR.
Women, instead, have the most common symptom of fatigue. Women experience a heart attack differently; they typically experience symptoms one month before or sooner, unlike the immediacy of chest pain for men (Longley). Before a myocardial infarction, women experience unusual fatigue, sleep disturbances, shortness of breath, indigestion, and anxiety (Longley). During, most women don’t have the sharp, sudden chest pain. Instead, they continue feeling a shortness of breath, more unusual fatigue, cold sweats, weakness, and dizziness (Longley). “Many people are well aware that chest pain is a warning of potential life-threatening disorders (Porter 31),” but as stated before, chest pain is the typical male symptom. “With men, often the first sign of heart disease is a heart attack itself, or at least a distinct tightening or squeezing in the chest upon exertion. Women’s first warning signs are often much more subtle: shortness of breath or fatigue when engaging in activities that used to be easy, or even a feeling of mild indigestion (Nelson 17).” The warning signs for women come sooner, but are much more subtle, which is the other part of the problem.
This is commonly known as a ‘heart attack’, it occurs when one of the coronary arteries becomes blocked. This can result in a shortage of blood getting to the heart which can affect it being able to work efficiently due to damage.
The symptoms for heart attack are different between the sexes. Both male and females encountering a heart attack might experience chest pain, however, this is more commonly seen in men. For women a heart attack is typically anticipated with signs like: back pain, indigestion, vomiting, extreme fatigue, or breathing problems. The symptoms for males are typically characterized by experiencing the following: chest pain, cold sweats and pain in the left arm. Strokes for both women and men can have a range of symptoms depending on what portion of the brain was affected, but typically it is common to observe some form of paralysis, weakness, dizziness, numbness, trouble speaking, confusion, etc. in someone experiencing a stroke (National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, 2015a; National Heart,
Myocardial Infarction (MI); heart attack affected Circulatory system, the sudden passing of heart muscle due to limited stream of oxygenated blood to the heart muscle; characterized by strongly chest pain, sweating, shortness of breath, or some of the time none of these symptoms. Myocardial areas of dead tissue, superior known as heart attack happen when there are interferences within the blood supplies to the heart and pumps blood from the heart to other vital organs. The heart is an exceedingly specialized muscle whose work is to pump life-sustaining blood to all parts of the body. Its activity includes creating weight to impel blood through arriving and leaving channels veins and arteries that must keep up that weight
There are quite a lot of symptoms that may sound the alarm -- in the event you have the knowledge of what things to watch for, although it might seem like a heart attack comes from the blue. Based on a recent Harvard study, just 25 percent of heart attack sufferers had no previous symptoms. The trouble is, these risk signals are not always the symptoms you have been warned about. Here are seven early warning signals that may save a life -- yours or that of someone you like. Make sure you quickly get in touch with a health supplier should you find them occuring although these symptoms in many cases are due to issues other than an imminent heart attack.
Cardiac death is a loss of heart function. When this happens, the heart no longer pumps blood to the rest of the body and death occurs. It can be sudden and without warning or it can result from a long-term (chronic) heart condition. Immediate action must be taken to prevent death.
If an artery becomes so clogged that blood cannot flow through it, the result is chest pain which could progress to a heart attack, or myocardial infarction (MI). "Myocardial" is a medical term that means "having to do with