If you have reached this screen, your current device or browser is unable to access the full Edward-Elmhurst Health Web site. To see the full site, please upgrade your browser to the most recent version of Safari, Chrome, Firefox or Internet Explorer. If you cannot upgrade your browser, you can remain on this site. Back to Healthy Driven Blog Home. View All Healthy Driven Blogs. How to know when chest pain signals a heart attack May 01, by Michael Brottman, M.
Categories: Healthy Driven Hearts. New drug for stroke speeds up treatment, offers improved outcomes Tenecteplase drastically decreases the time it takes to administer the initial dose for stroke patients.
Does deep breathing or coughing affect the symptoms? If the pattern grows less predictable, you could be experiencing unstable angina. Angina is rare in people under 35 years of age unless that person has other health problems which make angina more common — such as diabetes or smoking tobacco.
Besides age, smoking, and diabetes, risk factors include a history of hypertension or high cholesterol. If an immediate family member was diagnosed with heart disease at a young age, you may have a higher risk of angina and heart disease as well.
Instead, it is most often a symptom of other heart conditions, including coronary artery disease. Therefore, treatment solutions must be tailored to each individual person, and medications treating the systemic components of the illness are often needed. Angina most often occurs when coronary artery disease causes plaque to build up in arteries supplying the heart and limits sufficient blood flow to the heart.
If it is a partial obstruction, treatment may include medication, surgery, or stent placement. A total obstruction may lead to a heart attack. In some cases, the body may create small blood vessels to reroute blood flow around a blocked artery—but only if the blockage builds slowly, allowing the body time to adapt. This is known as chronic total occlusion. It may even be fatal.
According to the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions, people have approximately 90 minutes between heart attack onset and getting medical treatment to prevent damage to critical heart tissue. During a heart attack, blood flow to the heart stops due to a blockage in a coronary artery. These are the arteries that carry blood to the heart. If a person does not receive immediate treatment, this lack of blood flow can cause damage to the heart.
According to the National Health Service NHS , many people die suddenly from such complications — some before they reach hospital and others within the first month of having a heart attack. The longer a heart attack is left untreated, the more damage that occurs and the worse the outcome becomes.
Someone should call immediately if they or someone else is experiencing the symptoms of a heart attack. Even if a person is unsure, they should still seek emergency treatment. According to the American Heart Association AHA , calling an ambulance allows treatment to begin up to an hour sooner than if people travel to the hospital by car. Those arriving by ambulance may also receive faster treatment at the hospital. It may be helpful to take an aspirin tablet, ideally milligrams , while waiting for an ambulance.
A person can take an aspirin tablet if they do not have an allergy to it and if a doctor or member of the emergency services team has recommended it. A person should make sure that they have taken any prescribed heart medication as instructed while they are waiting for the ambulance to arrive.
These medications may include nitroglycerin or beta-blockers. Learn more about different types of heart attack here. In most cases , a doctor will treat heart attacks using catheterization and stent placement. Catheterization involves feeding a tube into the heart through a small cut in the groin or arm.
A stent will hold the artery open. Forms of immediate treatment at the hospital may include :. Surgery can help restore blood flow to the heart. Surgical procedures for heart attack patients include bypass surgery. Types of angina The two most common types of angina are stable and unstable.
Stable angina Usually lasts 5 minutes; rarely more than 15 minutes. Triggered by physical activity, emotional stress, heavy meals, extreme cold or hot weather. Relieved within 5 minutes by rest, nitroglycerin or both. Pain in the chest that may spread to the jaw, neck, arms, back or other areas.
May feel like the burning sensation of heartburn or indigestion. What you can do if you experience an episode of stable angina: Track what triggers it. Record how long it lasts. Note what helped ease the pain. Unstable angina Often happens while you are resting. It occurs suddenly. You feel chest pain you did not have before.
Discomfort lasts longer than stable angina more than 20 minutes. Not relieved by rest or nitroglycerin. Episodes may get worse over time. What you can do if you experience an episode of unstable angina: Unstable angina should be treated as a medical emergency. Your doctor will do tests to find out if you are experiencing unstable angina.
You may need medical treatment to prevent a heart attack. Variant angina also called Prinzmetal angina Caused by a spasm in the coronary arteries. Spasms can be the result of exposure to cold weather, stress, smoking, cocaine use or medications that may tighten or narrow the arteries. Most people with variant angina have a severe blockage in at least one major coronary artery and the spasm usually happens close to the blockage.
Usually happens while resting, and during the night or early morning. Can be treated by medication. MVD affects the smallest blood vessels of the heart. Pain is more severe and can last longer than stable angina, sometimes 30 minutes or more. Pain is unpredictable. It can happen during exercise or while resting. Nitroglycerin may not relieve the pain. Treatment includes medication and lifestyle changes. Angina pain can be triggered by: physical activity exercise emotional stress extreme temperatures either hot or cold heavy meals drinking alcohol smoking Angina can stem from these medical conditions: Coronary artery disease CAD Blocked arteries from coronary artery disease are the most common cause of angina.
Without enough blood and oxygen, your heart works too hard which triggers angina. Coronary artery spasm Coronary artery spasm is a contraction in the blood vessels that supply the heart.
0コメント