What is a Heart Attack? Essay

Submitted By singhpreety
Words: 771
Pages: 4

What is Heart Attack? Heart muscle needs oxygen to survive, Heart Attack occurs when the blood flow that brings oxygen to the heart muscle is severely reduced or cut off completely. It happens because
Coronary arteries that supply the heart muscle with blood flow can slowly became narrow from a build up of fat, cholesterol and other substance that together are called plaque. When a plaque in a heart artery breaks, a blood clot forms around the plaque, this blood clot can block the blood flow through the Heart muscle. When the Heart muscle is starved for oxygen and nutrients its called ischemia.When damage or death of pair of the Heart muscle occurs as a result of ischemia, it is called Heart Attack or Myocardial infarction
Heart Attack symptoms include discomfort, pressure, heaviness or pain in the chest, arm or below the breast bone, Patient may feel fullness, indigestion or choking feeling(may feel like heartburn). Patient can have symptoms of sweating, nausea, vomiting or dizziness, they can have extreme weakness, anxiety or shortness of breath, rapid or irregular heart beats.
The role of diet is crucial in the development and prevention of cardiovascular disease. Diet is one of the key things we can change that will impact all other cardiovascular risk factors. Latest research published online by American Health Association found that people who consume fast food even once in a week increase their risk of dying from coronary heart disease by 20 percent in comparison to people who avoid fast food. For people eating fast food 2-3 times each week the risk increases by 50 percent and risk climbs to nearly 80 percent for people who consume fast food 4 or more times each week.
Fast food create a much higher risk of heart disease because of the hit level of saturated or trans fat found in much of the food, those fats can clog the arteries and over time contribute to high cholesterol level. Trans fats are found in many fast foods such as french fries, fried chicken, biscuits etc also found in doughnuts, cookies and crackers. Trans fat cause a higher risk for Heart disease than saturated fats.
It is clear from the research that abnormal blood lipid(levels) have a strong co-relation with the risk of coronary Heart disease, Heart Attack and coronary death.
Unsaturated fats, Polyunsaturated such as (Walnuts, Canola, Flax seed) and mono saturated such as(Cashew, Almonds, Peanuts, Pecans) are beneficial for heart health. They are present in fish, nuts, seeds and vegetables..The essential fatty acids omega 3 and omega 6 are found in oily fish, in nuts and seeds. Our body cannot make these acids, so we have to eat them to gain their benefits. It improves cholesterol levels in the body.
Treatments of Heart Attack includes:-Anti platelet medications to prevent formation of blood clots in the arteries. Patients may be given clot dissolving medications to open blocked arteries. It is best if these drugs are given with in three hours of when the patient first felt the chest pain. This is called thrombotic therapy. Angioplasty is often the first choice of treatment, it should be done within 90 minutes after the patient get to the hospital