About Heart Attacks

What You Should Know About Heart Attacks

The chances of surviving a heart attack have never been better, thanks in large part to advancements in intervention not only at the hospital, but in the ambulance as well. Still the facts surrounding heart attacks are sobering. According to the American Heart Association:

About 1.4 million people will suffer a heart attack this year.
Roughly 785,000 people will have a first heart attack.
Another 470,000 will have a recurrent heart attack.
An additional 195,000 people will have a “silent” heart attack with few, if any symptoms.

A heart attack, also called a myocardial infarction, can often be fatal. Studies show that almost 38% of people who experience a heart attack in any given year will die from it.

What Causes a Heart Attack

A heart attack occurs when one or more of the arteries supplying your heart with oxygen-rich blood (coronary arteries) become blocked. Over time, a coronary artery can narrow from the inside due to a buildup of a fatty substance call plaque. This condition is called coronary artery disease (CAD), the major underlying cause of heart attacks.

Time is Critical in Protecting the Heart

Time is Critical A heart attack is actually the end of a process that typically evolves over several hours. With each passing minute, more heart tissue is deprived of blood and deteriorates or dies. However, if blood flow is restored in time, damage to the heart can be limited and even prevented.

People often take a wait-and-see approach, delaying because they:

Do not understand heart attack symptoms and think that what they are feeling is due to something else, such as indigestion or heart burn.
Are afraid or unwilling to admit that their symptoms could be serious.
Are embarrassed about "causing a scene," or going to the hospital and finding out it is a false alarm.
Do not understand the importance of getting to the hospital right away.