Heart Attack

Dec. 12, 2011 | Think for a second. Would you know if you or someone else was having a heart attack? Most heart attacks are sudden and intense and some start slowly, with mild pain or discomfort. Many of the people affected aren’t sure what’s wrong and wait too long before getting help, which is why it’s so important to recognize the warning signs. Most heart attacks involve discomfort in the center of the chest that lasts more than a few minutes, or that goes away and comes back. Other symptoms can include pain or discomfort in one or both arms, the back, neck, jaw or stomach. Shortness of breath with or without chest discomfort, breaking out in a cold sweat, nausea or lightheadedness are among the other signs of a possible heart attack. As with men, women’s most common heart attack symptom is chest pain or discomfort. But women are more likely to experience some of the other common symptoms, particularly shortness of breath, nausea and back or jaw pain.

Dec. 12, 2011 | About every 34 seconds, someone in Arkansas has a heart attack, also known as a myocardial infarction. A heart attack occurs when one or more of the arteries supplying the heart with oxygen-rich blood become blocked. Over time, a coronary artery can become narrowed from the buildup of cholesterol. This buildup, collectively known as plaques, in arteries throughout the body is called atherosclerosis (PRONOUNCED ath-er-o-skler-O-sis). During a heart attack, one of these plaques can rupture and a blood clot forms on the site of the rupture. If the clot is large enough, it can completely block the flow of blood through the artery. When the coronary arteries have narrowed due to atherosclerosis, the condition is known as coronary artery disease, which is the underlying cause of most heart attacks. A less common cause of a heart attack is a spasm of a coronary artery that shuts down blood flow to part of the heart muscle. Drugs, such as cocaine, can cause such a life-threatening spasm.

Dec. 12, 2011 | Not all people who have heart attacks experience the same symptoms or experience them to the same degree. Some people have no symptoms at all. Still, the more signs and symptoms you have, the greater the likelihood that you may be having a heart attack. A heart attack can occur anytime, at work or play, while you’re resting, or while you’re in motion. Some strike suddenly, but many people who experience a heart attack have warning signs and symptoms hours, days or weeks in advance. The earliest warning of a heart attack may be recurrent chest pain that’s triggered by exertion and relieved by rest. Many people confuse a heart attack with a condition called cardiac arrest in which the heart suddenly stops. Sudden cardiac arrest occurs when an electrical disturbance in your heart disrupts its pumping action and causes blood to stop flowing to the rest of your body. Heart attack is the most common cause, but not the only cause, of cardiac arrest.

Dec. 12, 2011 | The death of University of Arkansas football player Garrett Uekman, who died last month in his dorm room in Fayetteville, was attributed to an undiagnosed condition called cardiomyopathy. There are several types of cardiomyopathy, which causes the heart muscle to become enlarged, thick, or rigid. As the disease worsens, the heart becomes weaker, less able to pump blood through the body and maintain a normal electrical rhythm. This can lead to heart failure, which, in turn, can cause fluid to build up in the lungs, ankles, feet, legs, or abdomen. The weakening of the heart can also cause other severe complications, such as heart valve problems. Uekman suffered from an enlarged heart, a symptom known as cardiomegaly. An enlarged heart can be caused by stress on the body, such as pregnancy, or because of a medical condition, such as the weakening of the heart muscle, coronary artery disease, heart valve problems or abnormal heart rhythms.

Dec. 12, 2011 | Early treatment for a heart attack can prevent or limit damage to the heart muscle. Acting fast, at the first symptoms of a heart attack, can save your life, according to UAMS cardiologist Dr. Ibrahim Fahdi (PRONOUNCED EE-brah-heem Foddy). Certain treatments are usually started right away if a heart attack is suspected, even before the diagnosis is confirmed. These include oxygen therapy, aspirin to thin your blood and prevent further blood clotting and nitroglycerin to reduce your heart’s workload and improve blood flow through the coronary arteries. Once the diagnosis of a heart attack is confirmed or strongly suspected, doctors start treatments to try to promptly restore blood flow to the heart. The two main treatments are thrombolytic medicines and angioplasty, a procedure used to open blocked coronary arteries using a catheter and a special balloon. To work best, the thrombolytic medicines, also called “clot busters,” must be given within several hours of the start of heart attack symptoms.