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Severe chest pain, shortness of breath, anxiety, palpitations? It could be a heart attack! In Poland, nearly 80 are treated for it. patients per year. Most of them are saved, but they have to literally start life again.
Reach the hospital in an hour
– I only remember the burning sensation in my chest, then I passed out. – I woke up at 4 in the morning and thought I was going to die. My husband said I was blue and my heart stopped. The heart was pounding as fast as if it was about to pop out. I immediately knew it was a heart attack and called an ambulance. This is how “heart attacks” describe a cardiovascular incident that changes lives.
Although it is commonly believed that a heart attack affects men over 50, there are 40 or 50-year-old patients in cardiology departments. Therefore, regardless of age or gender, the first symptoms of a heart attack should never be underestimated and should never delay calling for help. In the case of myocardial infarction, time is everything, or “time is life”.
The so-called “Golden hour”, which means that no more than 60 minutes should pass from the onset of heart attack symptoms to medical contact.
Failure to undertake effective treatment on time may result in the irreversible loss of part of the heart muscle and lead to the development of heart failure – a condition that significantly worsens the patient’s quality of life, is difficult to treat and is associated with high mortality. A patient with heart failure may complain of shortness of breath, pulmonary edema or edema of the lower limbs. He is often unable to function professionally and socially. This means foreclosure but also significant costs to your household budget.
In other words, the quick reaction of the patient himself and the vigilance of his relatives increases the chance of survival and determines the quality of life after the heart attack. But before we explain what the “new normal” will look like, let’s consider what actually happened and how did it happen?
Not only you
Basically a heart attack is the sudden closure of a coronary artery. Blood does not flow to the heart muscle and it gradually dies. Its main cause is atherosclerosis. The direct mechanism is the rupture of the atherosclerotic plaque and the formation of a blood clot on it, which leads to blockage of the coronary artery and disruption of blood flow to the supplied area of the myocardium [1].
According to statistics, nearly 80 are treated in Poland due to a heart attack. patients per year. However, considering that some patients die before they reach the hospital, the real number of cases exceeds 100. people [2].
We know that the risk of a heart attack increases with age due to the natural aging process, which causes the narrowing of the arteries, the development of atherosclerotic lesions and the emergence of other diseases. Other non-modifiable risk factors include male gender and family history of cardiovascular disease [3].
However, there are risk factors that we have a real influence on, and their elimination will be crucial for life after a heart attack. These include: abnormal cholesterol levels, diabetes, hypertension, overweight and obesity, low physical activity, improper diet, smoking and alcohol abuse [3].
The «new normality» of the heart attack man
Although cardiologists warn that about 10 percent die within a year of the first heart attack. sick, and within 5-10 years, nearly half. It doesn’t have to be that way. Zawałowcy have a chance for a long life. However, it takes time and several lifestyle modification conditions to be met to return to normal. What changes will allow us to avoid a second heart attack and extend our life?
First of all, you should take the medications prescribed by your doctor and regularly report for check-ups. Patients under the constant care of a specialist are much more effective in fighting risk factors. Second, try to lose weight and control blood pressure, sugar and cholesterol levels. The more so as lipid disorders significantly affect the risk – the lower the concentration of HDL cholesterol and the higher the LDL cholesterol, the higher the probability of a heart attack [3].
Unfortunately, Poles still ignore hypercholesterolaemia. It is estimated that about 20 million Poles are too high in cholesterol, of which only about 6 percent. they are aware of their disease. It is clear that this is a much more common problem than high blood pressure or diabetes. Anyway, like the other two diseases, which are independent risk factors for cardiovascular diseases, hypercholesterolaemia is classified as the so-called silent killers. You cannot see it and it does not hurt – the symptoms usually appear in the form of complications, such as: atherosclerosis, ischemic heart disease, intermittent claudication (leg pain while walking) and stroke [4].
That is why secondary prevention is so important – a lipid profile, also known as the lipid profile, is a simple blood test that saves lives. It includes four indicators: the concentration of total cholesterol, low and high density lipoprotein (cholesterol fractions containing LDL and HDL, respectively) and the concentration of triglycerides (TG), the level of which is also important in the development of atherosclerosis. Taking into account that, apart from secondary hypercholesterolaemia, there is also primary (family) hypercholesterolaemia, which is a genetically determined disease, the closest relatives of a cardiac patient should also consider performing a lipidogram [4].
Bar, exercise and diet
One of the modifiable risk factors for coronary artery disease is overweight and obesity, especially of the abdominal (visceral) type. Therefore, post-infarction patients should maintain normal body weight [5].
The body mass index (BMI), calculated on the basis of height and weight, is used to assess whether our weight is within the normal range. Values equal to or higher than 25 are associated with higher blood cholesterol levels, higher blood pressure, and an increased risk of heart attack and stroke [5]. It is worth remembering that muscles weigh more than fat. So BMI is a good method of assessing body weight, but not ideal. For this reason, it is also useful to measure the circumference of the waist to determine the amount of abdominal fat. Abdominal obesity in men is considered to be over 102 cm, while in women over 88 cm.
What will help us maintain a healthy body weight is a “reliable duo”, i.e. a balanced diet and physical activity. The most important thing is that our diet is varied, and that the basis of our meals is vegetables and whole grains, rich in fiber. The role of fats should not be forgotten either – the consumption of saturated fats should be limited in favor of unsaturated fats [5]. What does this mean in practice? Replacing butter with high-quality margarine, in the case of people with high LDL cholesterol – rich in plant sterols, using vegetable fats, preferably rapeseed oil, supplementing the diet with sea fish, which is an excellent source of Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids. However, it is important that the total fat consumption does not exceed 30%. daily caloric requirement.
Eating a healthy diet also means reducing your salt intake [5], which should be replaced with herbs and spices, reducing alcohol and quitting smoking. If you continue to smoke after a heart attack, you are twice as likely to have another heart attack compared to someone who has quit!
When it comes to physical activity, the return to the former fitness should be planned and controlled by specialists. After a heart attack, the heart muscle is undergoing a reconstruction period that lasts several weeks or even months. Too much effort can lead to cardiac arrhythmias, and even end up in cardiac arrest.
Ultimately, moderate-intensity physical activity is recommended for at least 30 minutes every day. A good solution will be walking, cycling, Nordic walking, gymnastics based on simple exercises, without heavy loads, or a swimming pool. Remember that daily activities such as gardening, cleaning the house, climbing stairs or walking the dog are also good for your health.
It is also worth reducing the level of stress. It sounds like a huge challenge, but perhaps many of the issues that were its source are no longer so important from the perspective of losing health? In returning to the former form, it is impossible to overestimate the support of your relatives who will help you believe in the possibility of making the necessary changes.
In patients after a heart attack, the probability of another heart attack is high and amounts to about 15-20%. during the year. By following the recommendations after a heart attack, you can significantly reduce this risk! It is never too late to make healthy changes in your life.
MLR ID: 166350