Despite the increasing knowledge in the society, it happens that we disregard the symptoms of a heart attack, explaining them with indigestion or back pain. Meanwhile, it turns out that a large proportion of patients go through a heart attack unconsciously. For the sake of your health, do not underestimate the symptoms of a heart attack, because every single minute separates you from life and death.
A heart attack occurs when at least one of the coronary arteries that carry blood for the heart’s nourishment becomes occluded by a blood clot. Ischemia causes pain and a number of unpleasant ailments. A quick intervention by a cardiologist allows you to unblock the lumen of a blood vessel in a maximum of several minutes.
People who are overweight or addicted, and those whose loved ones have already suffered a stroke or heart attack should be on their guard, because the genetic factor is of great importance.
React when you notice…
Pain behind the breastbone – diffuse, radiates to other parts of the body, including the left arm, left arm or hand, epigastrium, between the shoulder blades, around the jaw and throat. Pain can be of various nature, e.g. choking, crushing, suffocating, crushing. Pain characteristics:
jaw pain – radiates to the left or both sides of the jaw, sometimes down the neck, does not go away after taking painkillers,
pain in arm, hand, hand – not necessarily strong, it is accompanied by a feeling of heaviness in the hands, it appears not only on the left, but also sometimes on the right or both sides,
nadbrzusza from – it is usually light or dull, the patient feels that the abdomen is bloated, full, neither a change of position nor an antacid brings any improvement.
Pressure or bursting sensation – suggests an infarction when it occurs in the center of the chest, lasts more than 5 minutes.
fear- inexplicable black thoughts and anxiety.
Sudden weakness profuse sweating, shortness of breath, dizziness, nausea and vomiting, overwhelming fatigue.
Out of breath – even when you do not perform hard effort, and the lack of air does not pass during rest.
Cardiac arrest – the heart stops beating, breathing stops, the pulse is imperceptible.
Infarction masking factors
Diabetes – up to 40% of people with diabetes have damage to the nerves that conduct pain, so they do not feel it so strongly, which directly affects the pain in the epigastrium and is explained by indigestion, and the pain between the shoulder blades is likely to be recognized as back pain.
Plec – in women, the symptoms of a heart attack coincide, e.g. with coronary artery disease, exhaustion, stomach problems, flu. Pain is more difficult to localize, and a burning sensation or tightness in the stomach makes you suspect heartburn.
No chest pain — based on the research, the researchers found that a heart attack without chest pain occurred in 42% of women and 31% of men. Patients arrived later in the hospital and had nearly double the short-term mortality rate.
golden hours
The first six hours are decisive in the treatment of a heart attack. Thanks to invasive cardiology used in the acute phase of myocardial infarction, the mortality rate decreases to a few percent. Appropriate care increases the chances of increasing the efficiency of patients after convalescence.
If you recognize disturbing symptoms in yourself or another person, do not delay the decision to call an ambulance on 112 or 999. While waiting for help, you can give 300 mg of crushed or dissolved aspirin, try to calm the patient down, free him of clothing that aggravates shortness of breath, e.g. a tie. Make sure he is not lying with his legs elevated. Resuscitate if he loses breathing and consciousness.