Heart Attack Warning Signs and The Causes

A heart attack is a frightening experience, not all people survive from it, but most who experience it may survive and go on to lead enjoyable lives. The frequently asked questions are how big the chance to survive from it if you get it again? What has happened, during a heart attack? How your heart can heal? What are the signs of a heart attack? Knowledge is power. Arming yourself with this information can help you to live a healthier, longer life.

What is a heart attack?

Hear attacks is a circulation problem, often start slowly, with mild pain or discomfort and seldom with a sudden and intense attack. If you are lucky and you survived the first time, then there is a big risk that you will have it again unless you fix the health issue. 

What causes a heart attack?

The muscles in the body need oxygen consistently. The heart is also made of muscles and needs oxygen and energy to survive. especially when the glucose or pyruvate level is low. A heart attack occurs when the blood flow that brings oxygen to the heart muscle is severely reduced or cut off completely. As well as when the heart energy supply becomes reduced. That because the heart cannot sustain its contractile activity with only a low amount of oxidized ketone bodies. That’s why glucose or pyruvate is important to restore normal function. The glucose can come from your diet, or by broken down from liver glycogen, not heart muscle because the heart has no glycogen stores. It has been known that if glucose drops down during an intense workout, the person will fall in a coma. Due to the reduced amount of oxygen and energy. Just know that fatty acids are the primary energy source under normal circumstances. As well as it is preferable that the heart utilizes glucose under intense workout.

Atherosclerosis the slow process and coronary occlusion

The process of atherosclerosis has no symptoms. In most cases, heart attacks become due to the narrowing of the coronary arteries that supply the heart muscle with blood flow. The narrowed arteries occur from a build-up of fat, cholesterol, and other substances that together are called plaque. The problem gets bigger when plaque within a heart artery breaks, a blood clot forms around the plaque. This blood clot can block the blood flow through the artery to the heart muscle. Thus, that causes damage to the heart muscles. Furthermore, if a clot moved in blood circulation and reached the brain. That may block the blood from going to some part of the brain and that will cause brain infarction. 

Ischemia or myocardial infarction

Ischemia is the damage or death of part of the heart muscle. Due to a blockage in blood supply to that area. Thus, that will result in the heart muscle to be starved for oxygen and nutrients.

Spasm of the coronary artery

Sometimes a coronary artery temporarily contracts or goes into spasm. When this happens the artery narrows and blood flow to part of the heart muscle decreases or stops. Thus, that can cause a heart attack.

Tearing of the coronary artery wall

Tearing of the coronary artery wall is rare. The tearing causes heart attack by spontaneous coronary artery dissection.

Sudden cardiac death

Sudden cardiac death can occur spontaneously or by a heart attack. Sudden cardiac arrest is an electrical problem. In this case, the heart malfunctions and suddenly stops beating unexpectedly. Cardiac arrest may be reversed if cardiopulmonary resuscitation is performed and a defibrillator is used within minutes to shock the heart and restore a normal heart rhythm.

Heart attack warning signs

• Chest discomfort. Sometimes heart attacks involve discomfort in the center of the chest, that lasts more than a few minutes or it may go away and then return. It can feel like uncomfortable pressure, squeezing, fullness, or pain.
• Discomfort in other areas of the upper body. Symptoms can include pain or discomfort in one or both arms, the back, neck, jaw, or stomach.
• Shortness of breath. This can occur with or without chest discomfort.
• Other signs. Other possible signs include nausea or light headedness.

Is my heart permanently damaged?

The heart muscle that has lost blood supply by a heart attack, begins to suffer injury. The amount of damage to the heart muscle depends on the size of the area supplied by the blocked artery and the time between injury and treatment. In rare cases, damaged heart muscle heals by forming scar tissue. That usually takes several weeks for the heart muscle to heal. You should know that after recovering from a heart attack, the scar tissue will not contract or pump as well as healthy muscle tissue.

Is all chest pain a heart attack?

When your heart muscle doesn’t get enough blood supply and oxygen that it needs. That causes chest pain. This state called Angina. The difference between angina and a heart attack is that angina attacks don’t permanently damage the heart muscle. Sometimes angina can lead to a heart attack. There are different types of angina, including:

• Stable angina, Stable angina often occurs during exercise or emotional stress when your heart rate and blood pressure increase and your heart muscle needs more oxygen. Learn more about stable angina.
• Unstable angina sometimes referred to the as acute coronary syndrome. Unstable angina occurs while you may be resting or sleeping, or with little physical exertion. It comes as a surprise. Unstable angina can lead to a heart attack and it should be treated as an emergency. Learn more about unstable angina.

Our recommendation is that you should catch the signs early, Don’t wait to get help if you experience any of these heart attack warning signs.