When Do Heart Attacks Occur

Treatment Of Heart Attack

With each passing minute after a heart attack, more heart tissue loses oxygen and deteriorates or dies. Once the heart attack is diagnosed, treatment begins immediately, possibly in the ambulance or emergency room. Treatment options include:

Medications: The goals of medication therapy are to break up or even prevent blood clots, prevent platelets from gathering and sticking to plaque, stabilize the plaque, and prevent further lack of oxygen to the heart muscle. These medications must be given as soon as possible to decrease the amount of damage to the heart muscle.

Medication options may include the following:

• Aspirin will treat pain, inflammation, and reduce risk of a heart attack.
• Thrombolytic therapy is the administration of drugs called lytics or clot busters that will help break up or dissolve blood clots.
• Anticoagulants blood-thinners will help treat, prevent and reduce blood clotting.
• Other antiplatelet drugs such as brilinta and prasugrel.
• Statins will help reduce the level of cholesterol in the blood.
• Any combination of the above

Medical and surgical procedures

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When Do Most Heart Attacks Occur

From the outside, a heart attack can seem very sudden. But from the inside — like inside an artery — it’s actually pretty predictable.

Clogged arteries, also called coronary artery disease , are the primary cause of heart attacks . Arteries get clogged by something called plaque, a fatty substance that builds up on artery walls. Plaque often builds up when there’s too much fat and cholesterol in the diet — and too much cholesterol in the blood. Essentially, stuff starts sticking to the artery walls of the heart as blood passes through, and eventually a blood clot can form. If it’s big enough, that clot can block the artery entirely.

In a heart attack, oxygen supply to the heart has been cut off, resulting in damage to or death of heart muscle. The heart stops pumping if the blood flow isn’t immediately restored. When it stops pumping, that’s a heart attack. In the United States, about 1.1 million people suffer heart attacks every year, and about half of those heart attacks result in death .

Heart attacks seldom happen without some kind of warning. They can often be explained by medical history, including high cholesterol or high blood pressure, or by a family history of heart disease. But can they also be explained by external circumstances, like time of year or time of day? Are there certain occasions that pose greater risk for people with heart disease?

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Why The Heart Attack Is Most Common In Early Mornings

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One fine morning, a 49-year-old young, fit, at a healthy weight, and didnt smoke, drink, or do drugs was feeling chest pain, along with the feeling he was going to throw up everything. Suddenly he collapsed on the floor, with symptoms were of a heart attack. Even though he didnt fit the picture of heart disease or didnt have the history of it.

A heart attack can happen to anybody anywhere at any time. The studies have shown that morning heart attacks tend to be more severe than those that happen later in the day.

The most dangerous time is the last phase of sleep and right after you wake up. Do you know heart attacks are five to six times more likely to occur in the early morning hours?

Morning Heart Attacks Vs Overnight Heart Attacks

The patients included in the study all had a type of heart attack caused by blockages in the arteries.

Heart muscle damage was calculated by examining peak concentrations of creatine kinase and troponin-I , key enzymes released in response to muscle injury.

Heart attack timing was divided into four six-hour time periods over 24 hours.

As expected, the largest number of heart attacks occurred in the morning hours, with 269 patients needing treatment between 6 a.m. and noon. The fewest heart attacks occurred between midnight and 6 a.m., with 141 patients needing treatment.

Patients whose heart attacks occurred between 6 a.m. and noon had 21% higher CK and TnI levels than patients whose heart attacks occurred between midnight and 6 a.m.

Ibanez says the recognition that morning heart attacks may be more severe could have important implications for their treatment.

Early treatment with clot-busting drugs and angioplasty can prevent or limit damage to the heart muscle, but most cardiac catheterization labs are not fully staffed in the early morning hours.

Research suggests that around-the-clock access to a catheterization lab reduces treatment delays, he says.

âIt could be that having one or two cath labs open in a city could have a significant impact on outcomes,â Ibanez says.

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Complications Of A Heart Attack

Complications of a heart attack can be serious and possibly life threatening.

These include:

• arrhythmias these are abnormal heartbeats. 1 type is where the heart begins beating faster and faster, then stops beating
• cardiogenic shock where the heart’s muscles are severely damaged and can no longer contract properly to supply enough blood to maintain many body functions
• heart rupture where the heart’s muscles, walls or valves split apart

These complications can happen quickly after a heart attack and are a leading cause of death.

Many people die suddenly from a complication of a heart attack before reaching hospital or within the 1st month after a heart attack.

The outlook often depends on:

• age serious complications are more likely as you get older
• the severity of the heart attack how much of the heart’s muscle has been damaged during the attack
• how long it took before a person received treatment treatment for a heart attack should begin as soon as possible

Signs Symptoms And Complications

Not all heart attacks begin with the sudden, crushing chest pain that often is shown on TV or in the movies. In one study, for example, one-third of the patients who had heart attacks had no chest pain. These patients were more likely to be older, female, or diabetic.

The symptoms of a heart attack can vary from person to person. Some people can have few symptoms and are surprised to learn they’ve had a heart attack. If you’ve already had a heart attack, your symptoms may not be the same for another one. It is important for you to know the most common symptoms of a heart attack and also remember these facts:

• Heart attacks can start slowly and cause only mild pain or discomfort. Symptoms can be mild or more intense and sudden. Symptoms also may come and go over several hours.
• People who have high blood sugar may have no symptoms or very mild ones.
• The most common symptom, in both men and women, is chest pain or discomfort.
• Women are somewhat more likely to have shortness of breath, nausea and vomiting, unusual tiredness , and pain in the back, shoulders, and jaw.

Some people don’t have symptoms at all. Heart attacks that occur without any symptoms or with very mild symptoms are called silent heart attacks.

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Take The Ehac Oath With Us

We encourage you to start taking care of your heart health today. We can kick this commitment off by taking the EHAC oath together.

I understand that heart attacks have beginnings and on occasion, signs of an impending heart attack may include chest discomfort, shortness of breath, shoulder and/or arm pain and weakness. These may occur hours or weeks before the actual heart attack. I solemnly swear that if happens to me or anyone I know I will call 9-1-1 or activate Emergency Medical Services.

Why Daylight Saving Time Could Increase Your Heart Attack Risk

The number of heart attacks rises the Monday after daylight saving time, a Michigan Medicine study found. Interrupted sleep may be the culprit.

Heart attacks occur most often on Monday mornings. And on one particular Monday, the risk may be further elevated.

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Research shows a 24 percent jump in the number of heart attacks occurring the Monday after we spring forward for daylight saving time compared with other Mondays throughout the year.

That lost hour of sleep may play a bigger, perhaps more dangerous role in our bodys natural rhythm, according to a 2014 study led by the University of Michigan Frankel Cardiovascular Center.

Although researchers cant say precisely what is driving this rise in heart attacks, they have a theory.

The reason more heart attacks happen on Monday mornings could be attributed to several factors, including the stress of starting a new workweek and inherent changes in our sleep-wake cycle. Previous studies have linked poor or insufficient sleep with heart disease.

With daylight saving time, all of this is compounded by one less hour of sleep.

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Will I Have To Take Medicine For The Rest Of My Life

If you have had a heart attack, your doctor will probably want you to take certain medicines for a long time. This can help reduce your risk of more heart problems. Your doctor can answer your questions about these medicines. He or she can tell you the benefits and risks of taking them.

• Aspirin can reduce the risk of a heart attack. A low dose of aspirin each day can keep your blood from forming clots that can eventually block the arteries. Talk to your doctor about the risks and benefits of aspirin therapy.
• Antiplatelet medicines also help stop blood clots from forming. These drugs are especially important to take for at least a year if you have had a stent placed in your heart.
• Beta blockers are a group of drugs that lower the heart rate and blood pressure. They help improve blood flow to the heart.
• ACE inhibitors are a group of drugs that can help if your heart is not pumping blood well. This medicine helps open your arteries and lower your blood pressure. This improves blood flow.
• Statins are a group of drugs that are used to control cholesterol. They lower bad cholesterol levels and may help increase good cholesterol .

Which Season Has The Most Heart Attacks

Several studies have demonstrated that there is seasonal variation in heart attacks.

They are most likely to occur in the winter, and least likely to occur in the summer. This is not just true for heart attacks, but also other cardiovascular events. Several explanations have been proposed. Winter is associated with infections and derangements in cholesterol levels. The lower temperatures cause increased stress on the walls of the heart and reduced flow to the arteries that supply the heart. Winter is also associated with psychological stress, depression and decreased activity. In fact, researchers have shown people are most likely to die from heart disease over the Christmas and New Years period.

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Heart Attacks In The Morning Are More Severe

Study Shows Heart Attacks in the Morning Are More Serious Than Those in Overnight Hours

April 27, 2011 — The most common time of day for heart attacks is the morning, and now new research suggests that morning heart attacks are also the most serious.

Heart attacks occurring between 6 a.m. and noon were associated with the most the damage in the study, reported Wednesday in the journal Heart.

Researchers reviewed data from more than 800 heart attack patients treated at a hospital cardiac center in Madrid, Spain, between 2003 and 2009. Heart attacks that occurred in the morning hours were associated with about 20% more dead heart tissue.

The study is the first to link circadian fluctuations to heart attack severity in humans. If confirmed, the findings could affect treatment and research, study researcher Borja Ibanez, MD, PhD, tells WebMD.

Ibanez is a senior investigator for Spainâs National Center for Cardiovascular Research and an interventional cardiologist at Madridâs Hospital Clinico San Carlos.

The association was quite robust,â he says. âIn our study, events that took place in the morning were associated with more damage.â

What Are The Risk Factors For Heart Attack

Several health conditions, your lifestyle, and your age and family history can increase your risk for heart disease and heart attack. These are called risk factors. About half of all Americans have at least one of the three key risk factors for heart disease: high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, and smoking.2

Some risk factors cannot be controlled, such as your age or family history. But you can take steps to lower your risk by changing the factors you can control.

Learn more about risk factors for heart disease and heart attack.

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Types Of Heart Attack

The type of heart attack you experienced determines the treatments that your medical team will recommend. These include:

• ST- segment elevation myocardial infarction : This type of heart attack occurs when a coronary artery is completely blocked.As a result, a large portion of the heart cannot receive blood, and the heart muscle quickly begins to die. STEMI are the deadliest type of heart attacks.
• Non-ST segment elevation myocardial infarction : This type of heart attack occurs when a coronary artery is severely restricted but not entirely blocked. NSTEMIs usually cause less damage to the heart than their counterpart, STEMI.

Risk Factors You Can’t Control

Risk factors that you can’t control include:

• Age. The risk of heart disease increases for men after age 45 and for women after age 55 .
• Family history of early heart disease. Your risk increases if your father or a brother was diagnosed with heart disease before 55 years of age, or if your mother or a sister was diagnosed with heart disease before 65 years of age.
• Preeclampsia . This condition can develop during pregnancy. The two main signs of preeclampsia are a rise in blood pressure and excess protein in the urine. Preeclampsia is linked to an increased lifetime risk of heart disease, including CHD, heart attack, heart failure, and high blood pressure.
• Infections. Watch our video on how SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for COVID-19, may affect the heart. Additionally, we offer information and resources on how we are working hard to support necessary COVID-19 research.

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Spontaneous Coronary Artery Dissection

SCAD is a type of heart attack that happens when the inner lining of a coronary artery tears for no clear reason, slowing or blocking blood flow down the artery.

SCAD can occur in otherwise healthy people who do not have the typical risk factors of heart disease. And according to an article in Clinical Cardiology , about 90% of SCADs happen to women between the age of 30 and 60.

Living With A Heart Attack

After youve had a heart attack, you are at higher risk of having another one. Your doctor will likely recommend heart-healthy lifestyle changes to help reduce your risk. They include:

• Maintaining a heart-healthy diet.
• Being physically active.
• Quitting smoking.

Symptoms during a second heart attack may be different than the first one. If you have any new symptoms of heart attack or are in any doubt, call 911. Early treatment is the key to surviving a heart attack.

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Causes Of Heart Attacks

The most common cause of a heart attack is coronary heart disease . Plaque builds up over time along the walls of the artery, causing the blood vessel to narrow. Eventually, the narrowing becomes severe enough to reduce the blood flow to the heart or block it altogether. A traveling through the blood vessels can also cause a heart attack by plugging the artery and blocking the blood flow.

Sitting Posture In Toilet

The cardiac events that occur during defecation are, in many cases, the result of using the sitting posture for waste elimination. Intensive and repeated Valsalva Manoeuvres are needed for emptying the bowels in a sitting position. In fact, VM was found to be a triggering event.

We, humans, are optimally designed to poop in the squatting position. However, with globalization came the toilets that required people to sit comfortably rather than squat.

For many years, experts have started pointing out the western toilet positions harms on our digestive system. Using a sitting toilet triggers the risk more than a squatting toilet as it requires more strain.

Various studies have pointed out how western toilets cause constipation, hemorrhoids, Inflammatory Bowel Disease , appendicitis, and even heart attacks or cardiovascular events like cardiac arrest .

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Be Aware Of Your Heart While Shovelling Heavy Snow

Tuesday, November 16th 2021, 1:09 pm – Heart attacks have been known to occur while shovelling heavy amounts of snow here are signs to watch for and how to do it as safely as possible.

Shovelling the white stuff can not only hurt your back, but it can also be hard on your heart.

Heart attacks during shovelling usually occur when people rush to clear a heavy amount of snow.

Health officials say blood vessels are tighter in the cold weather, making it harder for blood to pass through them. Combine that with the stress of physical activity, and it can mean disaster for some unsuspecting shovellers.

What Happens During A Heart Attack

A heart attack happens when one or more of your coronary arteries suddenly becomes blocked, stopping the flow of blood to the heart muscle and damaging it causing a heart attack. Lets back up and learn more about your coronary arteries.

Your coronary arteries are a network of blood vessels that surround your heart muscle and supply it with blood that is rich in oxygen and nutrients. Your heart muscle needs this continuous supply of oxygen and nutrients to function. Over time, sometimes one or more of your coronary arteries narrow because of a buildup of cholesterol and fatty deposits on the inner walls. This is called atherosclerosis. Sometimes this plaque ruptures and forms a clot within the artery, which restricts blood flow to your heart. Blocked blood flow cuts off the needed supply of oxygen and nutrients, damaging or destroying that area of heart muscle.

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