Myocardial infarction is an emergency, most often caused by coronary artery thrombosis. The risk of death is especially great in the first 2 hours from its inception. Most often it develops in men aged 40 to 60 years. In women, the symptoms of a heart attack occur about one and a half to two times less often.
During myocardial infarction, blood flow to a particular area of the heart is greatly weakened or stopped altogether. In this case, the affected part of the muscle dies off, that is, its necrosis develops. The death of cells begins in 20-40 minutes from the moment of cessation of blood flow.
Myocardial infarction, the first aid in which should be provided in the very first minutes of the manifestation of symptoms indicating on this condition, can subsequently determine the positive outcome for this disease. To date, this pathology remains one of the main causes of death from cardiovascular diseases.
Causes of myocardial infarction
With myocardial infarction, one of the coronary vessels is blocked by a thrombus. This triggers the process of irreversible changes in the cells and after 3-6 hours from the onset of occlusion, the heart muscle in this site dies.
The disease can occur against the background of coronary heart disease, arterial hypertension, as well as with atherosclerosis. The main causes that contribute to the occurrence of myocardial infarction are: overeating, malnutrition, excess in the diet of animal fats, inadequate motor activity, hypertension, bad habits.
Depending on the size of the deceased site, a large and small-focal infarction is isolated. If necrosis captures the entire thickness of the myocardium, it is called transmural.
Heart Attack Symptoms
The main symptom of myocardial infarction in men and women is severe chest pain. The pain is so strong that the patient's will is completely paralyzed. A person has the idea of a near death.
The first signs of a heart attack:
- Stitching pain behind the thoraxis one of the first signs of a heart attack. This pain is very sharp and looks like a knife blow. Can last more than 30 minutes, sometimes for hours. Pain is capable of giving to the neck, arm, back and area of the shoulder blades. It can also be not only permanent, but also intermittent.
- Fear of death. This unpleasant sensation is in fact not such a bad sign, since it indicates a normal tone of the central nervous system.
- Shortness of breath, pallor, syncope. Symptoms arise because the heart is not able to actively push the blood to the lungs, where it is saturated with oxygen. The brain is trying to compensate for this, sending signals, quick breathing.
- Another important hallmark of myocardial infarction isno reduction or cessation of pain at rest or with nitroglycerin (even repeated).
Not always the disease manifests itself in such a classic picture. There may be atypical symptoms of myocardial infarction, for example, instead of chest pains a person can feel simple discomfort and irregularities in the work of the heart, pain may be absent altogether, but abdominal pain and labored breathing (shortness of breath) may be present - this picture is atypical, it is especially difficult to diagnose.
The main differences in pain with myocardial infarction from angina are:
- strong intensity of pain;
- duration is more than 15 minutes;
- pain does not stop after taking nitroglycerin.
Heart Attack Symptoms in Women
It is in women that pain during an attack is localized in the upper part of the abdomen, back, neck, jaw. It happens that a heart attack is very similar to heartburn. Very often a woman first has weakness, nausea, only after that there is pain. Such types of symptoms of myocardial infarction often do not cause suspicions in women, so there is a risk of ignoring a serious illness.
Symptoms of myocardial infarction in men are closer to the classical set, which makes it possible to diagnose more quickly.
Myocardial infarction: first aid
In the presence of these signs, you urgently need to call an "ambulance", and before her arrival with a 15-minute interval, take tablets nitroglycerin in a dosage of 0.5 mg, but no more than three times, to avoid a sharp drop in pressure. Nitroglycerin can be given only at normal pressure indices, at low arterial pressure it is contraindicated. Also it is worth chewing an aspirin tablet with a dosage of 150-250 mg.
The patient should be laid in such a way that the upper part of the trunk is slightly higher than the lower one, which will reduce the burden on the heart. It is necessary to unbutton or remove the restraining clothes and ensure the influx of fresh air in order to avoid attacks of suffocation.
If there is no pulse, breathing and consciousness, the patient should be put on the floor and start immediate resuscitation, such as artificial respiration and indirect heart massage.
Prevention
- You should stop smoking. Smokers die of heart attacks twice as often.
- If it is found that cholesterol is higher than normal, it is better to limit animal fats, which are much in butter, egg yolk, cheese, fat, liver. Give preference to vegetables and fruits. Milk and cottage cheese should be low-fat. Useful fish, chicken.
- The development of a heart attack is also facilitated by high blood pressure. Fighting hypertension, you can prevent a heart attack.
- Excess weight increases the load on the heart - bring it back to normal.
Consequences of myocardial infarction
The consequences of myocardial infarction predominantly occur with extensive and deep (transmural) damage to the heart muscle.
- arrhythmia is the most common complication of myocardial infarction;
- heart failure;
- arterial hypertension;
- aneurysm of the heart, rupture of the interventricular septum;
- recurrent (recurring) pain syndrome occurs in about 1/3 of patients with myocardial infarction.
- Dressler's syndrome.
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