Heart attacks, also known as myocardial infarctions, occur when blood flow to the heart is blocked, depriving the heart cells of oxygen. Over one million Americans have heart attacks each year. While some heart attacks can be rapid and seemingly out of nowhere the majority develop much more slowly and have warning signs and symptoms that should alert a person as to what may be happening.
Function
The heart is just like any other organ in the human body. It requires a steady supply of oxygen enhanced blood to keep it functioning normally. This blood is supplied through the coronary arteries. When these arteries become blocked, most often by a build up of various substances such as fats, proteins, and blood platelets, a heart attack can occur. In rare instances the coronary arteries can spasm and reduce blood flow so much that a heart attack results.
Identification
Pain in the chest is one of the classic warning signs that a heart attack is taking place. The center of a person's chest during a heart attack can feel simply like it aches or it can feel as if someone is exerting great pressure on it. This discomfort may occur and then stop before coming right back or it may be a steady pressure. It can resemble a feeling of fullness and feel as if someone is squeezing your chest. It will last for a span well over a few minutes and can be accompanied by pain or discomfort in one or both arms, shoulders, neck, jaw, and even the teeth.
Types
There are other types of warning signs of a heart attack. Stomach pain is one, with a pain that may emulate that of heartburn and go all the way into the abdomen. Shortness of breath can also happen during a heart attack, with the victim gasping or panting to catch their breath. This shortness of breath in most cases precedes the chest pain symptoms. Some people will have an attack of anxiousness; they acquire a feeling that something awful is about to happen or is happening. Dizziness and lightheadedness along with excessive sweating and nausea are also warning signs of a heart attack. In some heart attacks all warning signs will be present while in others only a few will be. In some cases there can be a heart attack with no symptoms-these are known as silent heart attacks.
Considerations
When women have a heart attack they will experience the chest pain symptoms that men do but they are more likely to also have the other heart attack symptoms as well. Many will often complain of sudden fatigue that they cannot explain prior to a heart attack and then will develop some or all of the other warning signs such as sweating or pain elsewhere in the upper body.
Time Frame
It usually takes several hours for a heart attack to occur, from start to finish. Many people fail to recognize the warning signs and waste time getting medical attention. The longer that blood flow to the heart is interrupted the more damage that occurs to the heart tissue which is being deprived of oxygen. Half of those that succumb to heart attacks do so within the first hour of when the warning signs present themselves. Embarrassment over being wrong about a heart attack causes many people to delay getting help, costing them their lives.
Tags: heart attack, heart attack, heart attacks, warning signs, blood flow, warning signs, attack occur
