The heart is a very vital organ that supplies the body with optimal blood needed for day to day activities. The heart consists of 2 atrium and 2 ventricles. Blood flow from the pulmonary veins into the right atrium and then the right ventricle. The blood moves into the pulmonary circulation and empties into the left atrium, which pumps the blood into the left ventricle and finally drains it into the systemic circulation. Alteration or disruption in the vascular supply to the heart could lead to a lot of cardiovascular condition such as Heart Attack.
A heart attack is medically defined \as a condition of reduced or insufficient blood supply to the heart. The signs and symptoms depend on the part of the heart affected. The muscular portion of the heart starved of blood could become necrosed with reduced efficiency and production output. It is often caused by deposition of fatty or cholesterol plaques in the walls of blood vessels.
How do you know if a heart attack is coming?
There are some warning signs that come with a heart attack. A heart attack can be hazardous, especially when it is left untreated or diagnosed very late. There are some warning signs that help you to know if a heart attack is coming such as:
- Chest Discomfort: Most people suffering from heart often complain of squeezing chest pain that occurs intermittently The chest discomfort can present in the form of tightness, fullness or pain. People often describe this chest discomfort in different ways; most people describe it as an elephant sitting on their chest. It a temporary pain that lasts for few minutes. If the pain worsens with pressure, it might not be your heart. However, some people experience a heart attack without chest pain, and the pain occurs irrespective of physical activity.
- Dyspnea: Heart attack patient often experiences a lucid period of dyspnea before their heart The shortness of breath is due to reduced blood flow to the brain.
- Gastrointestinal Symptoms: Some people experience nausea, vomiting, indigestion, or heartburn before a heart attack. Moreover, these signs and symptoms are not pathognomonic for a heart attack because they can occur due to numerous etiologies. It is safer to contact your medical doctor if you experience any gastrointestinal symptoms especially when connected with other flare symptoms.
- Radiating Pain: Heart attack pain often starts from the chest and spreads to other parts of the body. The pain usually spreads the left arm. There could be arm pain due to other etiologies, but a heart attack is suspected if the pain migrated formed the chest to the arm and combined with other symptoms such as shortness of breath. The pain could also radiate to the throat or jaw.
- Dizziness: decreased coronary blood flow can lead to hypertension in most people, the reduced blood pressure often causes people to feel weak, dizzy, and light headed. There are other conditions that can cause dizziness such as hypoglycemia, and orthostatic The dizziness is often due to reduced blood flow to the brain due to decreased cardiac output.
- Exhaustion: The feeling of exhaustion and fatigue after typical day to day activities, especially the ones that you can do quickly It is normal and physiological to feel tired after extreme physical activities, or new movements, sports, or routine. However, it is considered dangerous when you suddenly start feeling fatigued or exhausted after events that are deemed normal earlier.
- Snoring: Sleep apnea is one of the most common causes of snoring in most people. It is more dangerous for people with risk factors such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, and Cardiovascular disease.
How do I Know When I have a Heart Attack?
A heart attack is prevalent cardiovascular disease, especially in middle-aged and old people. However, it can come in handy, if you know some basic tips on how to tell if you have a heart attack. Most people complain of the feeling of an elephant sitting on their chest. However, some people especially women experience other red flags or warning signs before a heart attack. The signs and symptoms that precede a heart attack include:
- Fatigue: It is physiological to feel fatigued or extremely tired after a grueling training session or hectic week. However, most heart attack patient feels extremely tired even in the absence of intense physical activity. You may often feel too tired to do basic things like switching on the television or cooking.
- Referred Pain: Before a heart attack, most people often experience referred pain that radiates to the breastbone, jaws, shoulder or upper back.
- Hyperhidrosis: Excessive sweating, especially in the absence of intense physical activity, is a common symptom that precedes a heart attack.
- Nausea and Vomiting: There is the presence of gastrointestinal symptoms such as nausea and vomiting in people that eventually have a heart attack.
- Insomnia: Inability to sleep for various nights before a heart attack is common in the most heart attack patient. Most patients suffering from heart attack complain of sleepless nights before the onset of the heart attack.
- Breathlessness: Dyspnea and breathlessness are frequent in patients before the onset of a heart Most people often experience breathlessness during the prolonged conversation.
- Anxiety: There is often intense anxiety and a sense of doom or danger that precedes a heart attack. Most people can sense the onset of the heartache before it happens. Trust your instinct, your body is trying to send you a message, although, there is no medical backup to why it happens.
Can you have symptoms of a heart attack for days?
The duration of the signs and symptoms of a heart attack depends on a lot of factors such as the types (obtrusive or non-obtrusive heart attack). The non-obstructive heart attack symptoms could appear months before the onset of a heart attack, On the other hand, the signs and symptoms of an obstructive heart attack could appear suddenly or rapidly before the beginning of a heart attack.
Cardiologist near Me
A heart attack could be very fatal especially when detected very late or left untreated. If you experience any of the above symptoms, contact the cardiologist near you.
References
Do I have a heart attack?. (2018). Retrieved from https://myheartsisters.org/about-women-and-heart-disease/heart-attack-sign/
How women can tell if they’re headed for a heart attack. (2018). Retrieved from https://myheartsisters.org/2016/08/28/early-warning-signs-of-heart-attack/
Kerkar, P. (2018). Can You Have Symptoms of a Heart Attack for Days?. Retrieved from https://www.epainassist.com/chest-pain/heart/symptoms-of-a-heart-attack-for-days