January 27, 2012
February is American Heart Month but it is not because of Valentine's Day. It was designated heart month by the U.S. Congress in 1963 to raise awareness of heart disease.Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in 2006, 631,636 people died of heart disease. Heart disease caused 26 percent of all deaths in the United States.
The CDC indicates that every year about 785,000 Americans have their first heart attack. About 470,000 more have another one. So what is a heart attack and how can you recognize it?
A heart attack or myocardial infarction is usually caused by a blood clot that stops the flow of blood in the artery of the heart. Blockage of a coronary artery deprives the heart of oxygen-carrying blood.
Waiting for treatment can be fatal. The more time that passes without treatment to restore blood flow, the greater the damage to the heart. If blood is not restored quickly, the heart muscle typically dies, resulting in acute heart failure or death.
Not all heart attacks are like what you see in the movies or on TV. The “big one” that the character Fred Sanford always talked about, clutching his chest and staggering about, does not always happen.
Sometimes the symptoms of a heart attack are subtle. Symptoms may include pain or discomfort in the center of your chest. People sometimes say it feels like an elephant is sitting on their chest. This pain may come and go for minutes at a time.
Other symptoms include discomfort in the upper body, including the arms, left shoulder, back, neck, jaw or stomach; difficulty breathing or shortness of breath; sweating; a feeling of fullness or indigestion; nausea or vomiting; light-headedness or dizziness; extreme weakness or anxiety; and rapid or irregular heartbeats.
Women, however, are somewhat more likely than men to experience some of these more subtle symptoms, particularly shortness of breath, nausea or vomiting, and back or jaw pain. This may not be accompanied by chest pain. Women are also more likely to report unexplained fatigue.
Many people think this only affects men but cardiovascular disease including heart disease, hypertension, and stroke affects a large number of women. In fact, cardiovascular disease is the No. 1 killer of women in the United States. It is estimated that one in two women will die of heart disease or stroke, compared with one in 25 women who will die of breast cancer.
If someone onboard appears to be having a heart attack, call for help. When a heart attack strikes, time is critical. Time equals muscle; the longer it takes the victim to get to the hospital, the greater the amount of damage will occur to the heart muscle. The doctors only have a few short hours to restore the blood supply to the heart muscle by unblocking the affected heart artery. Treatments such as the administration of clot-busting drugs to dissolve the clot, heart catheterization and angioplasty must be done in a hospital.
If you have a medical service or tele-medicine device, call it. Often the doctors can talk you through treatment.
Until we get our victim to the hospital, we can help by putting the victim in a comfortable resting position. If the victim is alert, able to swallow and not allergic to aspirin, give him/her aspirin. Ask if the patient has prescribed medication, such as nitroglycerin, that you can help them take.
To reduce your chances of heart disease, limit your intake of fat, sugars and salt. Eat more whole grains, legumes, fresh produce and low-fat dairy products. Eat lean meat, lean poultry and fish. And watch how much you eat; this means declining that second helping of pasta.
Another way to help is exercising for 30 to 60 minutes each day. The American Heart Association recommends the following for healthy people:
“For health benefits to the heart, lungs and circulation, perform any moderate-to-vigorous-intensity aerobic activity for at least 30 minutes on most days of the week at 50–85 percent of your maximum heart rate.”
Some of these activities include brisk walking, hiking, stair-climbing, aerobic exercise, jogging, running, bicycling, rowing, swimming or playing soccer and basketball.
Limiting your intake of alcohol is another way to help. According to the Mayo Clinic, “moderate alcohol use seems to offer some health benefits, particularly for the heart. But too much alcohol raises the stakes, putting you at risk of adverse health consequences.”
Moderate drinking is defined as two drinks a day if you're a male 65 and younger, or one drink a day if you're a female or for a male 66 and older. A drink is defined as 12 ounces (355 milliliters) of beer, 5 ounces (148 milliliters) of wine or 1.5 ounces of 80-proof distilled spirits.
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