Heart Attack Risk Factors

Heart attack is most often caused by narrowing of the arteries by cholesterol plaque and their
subsequent rupture. This is known as atherosclerotic heart disease (AHSD) or coronary artery
disease (CAD).

The risk factors for ASHD are the same as those for stroke (cerebrovascular disease) or
peripheral vascular disease:

 Family history or heredity

 Smoking

 High blood pressure

 High cholesterol

While heredity is beyond a patient's control, all other risk factors can be addressed to minimize
the risk of developing coronary artery disease or decreasing its progression if already present.

Non-coronary artery disease causes of heart attack may also occur, these include:

 Cocaine use. This drug can cause the coronary arteries to go into enough spasm to cause
a heart attack. As well, because of the irritant effect on the heart's electrical system,
cocaine can also cause fatal heart rhythms.

 Prinzmetal angina or coronary artery vasospasm. Coronary arteries can go into spasm
and cause angina without specific cause known as Prinzmetal angina. There can be EKG
changes associated with this situation, and the diagnosis is made by heart catheterization
showing normal coronary arteries that go into spasm when challenged with a medication
injected in the cath lab. Approximately 2%-3% of patients with heart disease have
coronary artery vasospasm.

 Anomalous coronary artery. In their normal position, the coronary arteries lie on the
surface of the heart. On occasion, the course of part the artery can dive into the heart
muscle itself. When the heart muscle contracts, it can temporarily kink the artery and
cause angina. Again, diagnosis is made by heart catheterization.

 Inadequate oxygenation. Just like any other muscle, heart muscle requires adequate
oxygen supply for it to work. If there isn't adequate oxygen delivery, angina and heart
attack can occur. This means that an adequate number of red blood cells and normal lung
function are required to deliver oxygen to the cells of the heart. Profound anemia from
bleeding or bone marrow failure can lead to lack of red blood cells. Lack of oxygen in the
bloodstream can occur due to a variety of causes including respiratory failure or carbon
monoxide poisoning.
Heart Attack Symptoms

Classic symptoms of a heart attack may include:

 chest pain associated with shortness of breath,

 profuse sweating, and

 nausea.

The chest pain may be described as tightness, fullness, a pressure, or an ache.

Unfortunately, many people do not have these classic signs. Other presentations of heart attack
may include:

 indigestion,

 jaw ache,

 pain only in the shoulders or arms,

 shortness of breath, or

 nausea and vomiting.

This list is not complete, since many times people can experience a heart attack with minimal
symptoms. In women and the elderly, heart attack symptoms can be atypical and sometimes so
vague as to be easily missed. The only complaint may be extreme weakness or fatigue.

James wood(2000) at http://www.emedicinehealth.com/heart_attack/page3_em.htm

How Is a Heart Attack Treated?
Early treatment can prevent or limit damage to the heart muscle. Acting fast, at the first
symptoms of heart attack, can save your life. Medical personnel can begin diagnosis and
treatment even before you get to the hospital.

Certain treatments are usually started right away if a heart attack is suspected, even before the
diagnosis is confirmed. These include:

 Oxygen
 Aspirin to prevent further blood clotting
 Nitroglycerin, to reduce the workload on the heart and improve blood flow through the
coronary arteries
 Treatment for chest pain

Once the diagnosis of heart attack is confirmed or strongly suspected, treatments to try to restore
blood flow to the heart are started as soon as possible. Treatments include medicines and medical
procedures.

Medicines
A number of different kinds of medicines may be used to treat heart attack. They include the
following.

Thrombolytic Medicines

These medicines (also called clot busters) are used to dissolve blood clots that are blocking the
coronary arteries. To be most effective, these medicines must be given within 1 hour after the
start of heart attack symptoms.

Beta Blockers

These medicines decrease the workload on your heart. Beta blockers also are used to relieve
chest pain or discomfort and to help prevent additional heart attacks. Beta blockers also are used
to correct arrhythmias (irregular heartbeats).

Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme (ACE) Inhibitors

These medicines lower blood pressure and reduce the strain on your heart. They also help slow
down further weakening of the heart muscle.
Anticoagulants

These medicines thin the blood and prevent clots from forming in your arteries.

Antiplatelet Medicines

These medicines (such as aspirin and clopidogrel) stop platelets (a type of blood cell) from
clumping together and forming unwanted clots.

Other Medicines

Medicines may also be given to relieve pain and anxiety, and to treat arrhythmias, which often
occur during a heart attack.

Medical Procedures
If medicines can’t stop a heart attack, medical procedures—surgical or nonsurgical—may be
used. These procedures include the following.

Angioplasty

This nonsurgical procedure can be used to open coronary arteries that are blocked by a blood
clot. During angioplasty, a catheter (a thin, flexible tube) with a balloon on the end is threaded
through a blood vessel to the blocked coronary artery. Then, the balloon is inflated to push the
plaque against the wall of the artery. This widens the inside of the artery, restoring blood flow.

During angioplasty, a small mesh tube called a stent may be put in the artery to help keep it
open. Some stents are coated with medicines that help prevent the artery from becoming blocked
again.

Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting

Coronary artery bypass grafting is a surgery in which arteries or veins are taken from other areas
of your body and sewn in place to bypass (that is, go around) blocked coronary arteries. This
provides a new route for blood flow to the heart muscle.

Treatment After You Leave the Hospital

Most people spend several days in the hospital after a heart attack. When you leave the hospital,
treatment doesn’t stop. At home, your treatment may include daily medicines and cardiac
rehabilitation (rehab). Your doctor may recommend lifestyle changes, including quitting
smoking, losing weight, changing your diet, and increasing your physical activity, to lower your
chances of having another heart attack.
Cardiac Rehabilitation

Your doctor may prescribe cardiac rehab to help you recover from a heart attack and to help
prevent another heart attack. Almost everyone who has had a heart attack can benefit from rehab.
The heart is a muscle, and the right exercise will strengthen it.

But cardiac rehab isn’t only about exercise. It also includes education, counseling, and learning
about reducing your risk factors. Rehab will help you learn the best way to take care of yourself
after having a heart attack and how to prevent having another one.

The cardiac rehab team may include doctors (your family doctor, a cardiologist, and/or a
surgeon), nurses, exercise specialists, physical and occupational therapists, dietitians, and
psychologists or other behavioral therapists.

Alexandra Gill(2004) at
http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/HeartAttack/HeartAttack_Treatments
5 STEPS TO A HEALTHY HEART
Check these to-dos off your list and keep that ticker happy, healthy, and strong
BY LATESHA CAMPBELL AND TATIANA QUIROGA

1. Cut the Fat

A diet that's low in fat is like a warrior's shield against heart disease. Decrease your saturated fat
intake to no more than 7 percent of your daily calories. You'll find it in butter, meat, and whole-
fat dairy products, says Nieca Goldberg, M.D., director of the Women's Heart Center at New
York University's Langone Medical Center.

Try to eliminate trans fats from your diet too. They're the worst offenders, not only raising levels
of bad cholesterol but also lowering levels of good cholesterol. Only 1 percent of your daily diet
should consist of trans fats. Foods such as margarine, oils, fried foods, and pastries are prime
spots for this heart foe, so beware.

2. Know Your Risk

It's important to see your physician to check for high cholesterol, elevated blood sugar, and signs
of diabetes.

Blood pressure should be less than 120/80 for women, Goldberg says. Plus, being aware of your
specific risk factors for cardiovascular disease can help guide your diet and fitness goals.

Another way to assess your risk is to know your family's history. Your risk is increased if
women in your family under 65, or men under 50, have had heart disease, Goldberg says. It rises
17 percent if your father has had heart disease, and skyrockets to 43 percent if your mother was
afflicted. And even if you follow a healthy diet and exercise regimen, your risk could rise to as
much as 82 percent if both of your parents had heart disease.
Knowing your numbers and risks allows you to be proactive about your health, says Michelle A.
Albert, M.D., associate physician at Brigham and Women's Hospital and assistant professor of
medicine at Harvard Medical School. "It also means you're going to take some action against that
risk. That action may be drug therapy or changing your behavior," she says.

3. Move Your Feet

Not up for an intense workout? Even walking for 30 minutes a day can help strengthen your
heart.

Exercise can increase your high-density lipoprotein, commonly known as "good" cholesterol,
and decrease your low-density lipoprotein, also known as "bad" cholesterol. These two kinds of
cholesterol, combined with triglycerides, form your total cholesterol count, which should be less
than 200.

LDL should be less than 100, and HDL should be above 50 for women, says American Heart
Association spokesperson Anjanette Ferris, M.D., assistant professor of medicine at the
University of Connecticut Health Center. The more you exercise, the better your chances of
reducing your cholesterol.

4. Stop Smoking

It's time to give up cigarettes. For good. Besides the fact that they cause cancer, are expensive,
and just plain smell bad, they could very well kill you. Smokers are two to four times more likely
to develop coronary heart disease. Since that's the leading cause of death in the United States,
why keep up the bad habit? Smoking tobacco narrows arteries, raises blood pressure, and
thickens blood, making it more likely to clot—the perfect recipe for a heart attack.

And if you don't care enough about your own health to stop, think of how you are affecting the
health of those around you. Exposure to secondhand smoke can cause heart disease even in
nonsmokers.

-BY LATESHA CAMPBELL AND TATIANA QUIROGA

-Women’s health magazine, Asia. 102 editions, October 2009.

REFERENCES

Works Cited
Gill(2004), A. (n.d.). How to treated heart attack. Retrieved from Alexandra Gill(2004) at
http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/HeartAttack/HeartAttack_Treatments.html

QUIROG, L. C. (October 2009.). Healthy Heart. In L. C. QUIROG, Women’s health magazine.

wood, J. (n.d.). Heart Attack Factor. Retrieved from

http://www.emedicinehealth.com/heart_attack/page3_em.htm
 Personal Respones

Heart attack is signs and symptoms that result from the blockage of blood to the
heart.,without a good blood to our heart,the heart will not get enough oxygen.Each year
3.5 million people die because of heart attack.Reducing the risk factors of heart attack.

There was 4 common heart attack factors.. First is family history factors.Family
factors to heart attack means,there was someone in your family have heart
attacak.Example like grandfather,father or your siblings.Second factor is smoking .Since
smoking cause of stroke,it also will give a risk to get heart attack. Smoking is a bad
habbit that cause health problem. The third and fourth factor are connected each other.
When we have a high cholesterol ,that’s means,our blood carrying to many cholesterol.
When there are to many cholesterol , it will block our artery . And will be a high blood
pressure because the artery are getting smaller.

There are many ways to treated heart attack. Such as take a medicines , medical
procedures and many more. Medicine can reduce the pain when the heart attack
‘attack’ us. Sometimes it can recover the heart attack but it take many year to develop.
We can get this medical procedures at hospital and clinic.And it needs a lot of money.

To have a healthy heart there was 4 steps. It will avoiding us from the heart
attack. 4 steps to get a healthy heart.The first step to get a healthy heart is cut the fat .A
diet with balance calories is the best way. When you fat, you are possible to get a high
cholesterol. High cholesterol can give you a heart attack.Second step is know your risk.
Make a medical check out and when you know your make some action. You know you
body are in trouble. Next , move your feet. Make an exercise., even walking for 30
minutes a day.Last stop smoking to not getting cancer and something that will kill you.
 As for the conclusion, heart attack is a symptoms that can kill us. We must know
the factor and how to treated. If we don’t get the heart attack, better we stay with the
healthy life style.Make a exercise , eat good food , stop smoking and other thing that
can give a healthy heart.
 INSTITUT PENDIDIKAN GURU MALAYSIA

KAMPUS ILMU KHAS

Name : MUHAMAD HAZWAN AKMAL BINM ISMAIL

No. IC : 910127-01-5641

Group / Class : PPISMP J 3.6

Title of Essay : Heart Attack

Lecturer : Madam Roslina