How Long Do Heart Attack Symptoms Last
Posted by:Advanced Cardiology of Newmarket
If youre having a heart attack, how long does the chest pain last? Can it go on all day long?
According to the Mayo Clinic, heart attack symptoms often dont follow the classic pattern we see on television with a sudden onset pain. They can be much more subtle and sometimes begin with warning pains in the chest or other symptoms days or even weeks before the actual attack.
Typically, however, if youre having a heart attack, the severe pain lasts for about 15-20 minutes and then can linger for some time after. Im only a layperson though, and you should definitely talk to a doctor if youre having chest pain, or go to the ER if necessary.
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.
Waiting For Emergency Medical Attention
If a doctor has previously prescribed heart medication for heart conditions, a person should make sure that they have taken this medication. Examples of such heart medication include beta-blockers and nitroglycerin.
Others may take an aspirin tablet, which can thin the blood. However, a person should only take aspirin if a doctor or first responder has recommended it.
Urgent treatment is necessary to reduce the risk of serious damage to the heart tissue.
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Why Is It Common In The Morning
Heart attacks are more common during this period because there is a sudden increase in demand on our heart, our coronary arteries are more constricted and our capacity to dissolve blood clots is diminished, a data published by the Philippine Council for health research and development.
According to a study published in a cardiology journal heart, the heart attacks that occurred in the morning hours were associated with about 20% more dead heart tissue.
You must know these signs and symptoms of Heart attack
In the early hours of the morning, your levels of PAI-1a protein that prevents your body from breaking down blood clots, a major contributor to heart attack and strokespike.
During the early morning hours, the blood platelets are stickier and increased adrenaline released from the adrenal glands can trigger the rupture of plaques in coronary arteries. Your body also sees a natural surge in cortisol, taxing your heart.
In a study performed on mice, it has discovered that the heart rate is slow in the morning with irregular heartbeats. As the heart loses the regularity of the beat, it cannot pump blood efficiently and a person can die suddenly. The data published in the journal Nature.
It further links the risk between a protein, KLF15, and the bodys natural circadian rhythm.
Early morning when you wake up, our body and heart need more supply of oxygen to awaken the relaxed cardiovascular system. Also, more energy needed to perform other activities.
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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
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Why Sudden Cardiac Arrests No Longer Peak In The Morning
New research, published in the journal Heart Rhythm, discovers that due to recent cultural shifts in our work schedules and daily stressors, sudden cardiac arrests no longer tend to occur in the mornings.
Until now, the consensus has been that a range of cardiovascular events, such as angina, heart attacks, and stroke, tend to happen mostly in the early hours of the morning.
A possible explanation for this phenomenon is that in the morning, the sudden pressures of daily activities put a strain on peoples cardiovascular system.
Just waking up, in fact, releases the activity of certain hormones, such as cortisol, that raise blood pressure, heart rate, and glucose levels, as well as narrow blood vessels and prompt our hearts to pump harder.
However, given the new pressures of modern life such as instant communication, the prevalence of smartphones, apps, and the online medium in general the timing of our daily stressors may have changed.
So, do these changes have a bearing on certain cardiovascular events and the time of day in which they occur? New research suggests so.
Scientists from the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, CA led by Dr. Sumeet Chugh, a professor of medicine set out to investigate when the peak times for sudden cardiac arrests during the day are.
A heart attack, on the other hand, occurs when blood flow to the heart is partially blocked, which does not usually cause the heart to stop beating.
Are The Symptoms Of Heart Attack Different For Women
The most common heart attack symptom for women is pain or discomfort in the chest. Women are more likely to have a heart attack without having any chest pain. Therefore, women should pay close attention to other symptoms of heart attack. These include shortness of breath, sweating, fatigue, and dizziness.
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Is Heartburn A Symptom Of A Heart Attack
Heartburn is often a symptom of GERD, but it can also be a symptom of a heart attack. In fact, heart attacks can cause other symptoms that usually happen with GERD, such as nausea, burping, and vomiting. In this case, the symptoms usually do not occur by themselves and will come with other symptoms that point to a more serious cause.
Are Heart Attack Symptoms In Women Different
Although most women and men report symptoms of chest pain with a heart attack, women are slightly more likely than men to report unusual symptoms. More vague or less typical “heart” symptoms reported in women include:
- Upper back or shoulder pain.
- Jaw pain or pain spreading to the jaw.
- Pressure or pain in the center of the chest.
- Light headedness.
- Pain that spreads to the arm.
- Unusual fatigue for several days.
If you experience any of these symptoms of a heart attack, call for emergency assistance . Don’t wait for your symptoms to “go away.” Early recognition and treatment of a heart attack can reduce the risk of heart damage. Even if you’re not sure your symptoms are a heart attack, get it checked.
The best time to treat a heart attack is within one hour of the onset of the first symptoms. Waiting just a couple hours for medical help may change your treatment options, increase the amount of damage to your heart muscle and reduce your chance of survival.
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Preventing Heart Attacks By Understanding Cardiovascular Risks
Do you know that heart attacks have “beginnings” that can occur days or weeks before an actual attack? It is important to recognize these beginnings, with the help of an EHAC doctor, to help prevent the actual attack and its potential health consequences. People often mistake the early warning signs of a heart attack, such as chest pain, for heartburn or pulled a muscle. The unfortunate outcome is that many people wait too long before getting help.
At The Hospitals of Providence, we have an EHAC program delivered by a team of cardiologists, nurses and staff who are dedicated to helping men and women recognize the early warning signs of a heart attack. We provide care and treatment options for these signs and help prevent the emergency from happening.
Heart Attack Statistics By Age
Heart attacks have been the major cause of death across the world. The heart attack statistics available to us from sources in the medical field support this fact clearly. So, in this article, let us go through some statistics to understand the connection between heart attacks and the age of a person.
Heart attacks have been the major cause of death across the world. The heart attack statistics available to us from sources in the medical field support this fact clearly. So, in this article, let us go through some statistics to understand the connection between heart attacks and the age of a person.
A heart attack, or myocardial infarction, is caused due to a blockage in the flow of blood to the heart. The main cause of heart attacks is believed to be fatty deposits on the walls of arteries. Fat deposits leads to the narrowing of the arteries and they get ruptured, leading to clotting of bloodstream. The statistics related heart attacks, by age, reveals that this ailment leads to more deaths as compared to various other serious ailments. Family history, work related stress, lack of proper sleep, smoking, drinking excessively and lack of exercise are the main reasons for heart attacks. Given below are some heart attack statistics which you need to read carefully to get an idea of how heart attacks affect people of different ages.
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Causes Of Coronary Artery Disease
When you are young, your coronary arteries usually have smooth healthy walls. As you get older, the inner lining of your coronary arteries comes under attack from risk factors like toxins from cigarette smoke, mechanical injury from high blood pressure, high cholesterol or blood sugar from a diet high in saturated fats and sugars, and lack of exercise. These injuries start a chain of events that lead to the build-up of fatty streaks in your coronary arteries.
There are a number of factors that are known to increase your risk of coronary artery disease. Some risk factors you cant do anything about include age, ethnicity, gender, personal or family history of heart attack or stroke.
Other risk factors are within your power to change, such as smoking, high cholesterol, high blood sugar , high blood pressure, being overweight, physical inactivity, poor nutrition and poor mental health and wellbeing.
There are choices you can make today to better manage your coronary artery disease and help to lower your risk of having another heart attack.
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.
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Why Do People Often Get Heart Attacks In Bathrooms
A heart attack might occur due to several reasons. It is such a dangerous life-threatening ailment that can occur at any time. Experts say that there is a Bathroom factor which has to be taken care of. It has been noted that there are several cases of having a heart attack or brain attack while being in the bathroom.
One of the UITM professors has answered this saying, The way we take bath like having a shower which suddenly forces water on our head is a wrong way of bathing. This process will not allow the internal temperatures of the human body to get adjusted.
As a flow of water suddenly falls on your head, the blood immediately rushes towards head from all parts of the body. This sudden flow if gets obstructed due to any hurdle like fat deposits in blood vessels would lead to heart attack. This might make a person paralyzed either partially or completely.
He adds, Instead of that, it is always better to bath by making your feet wet and then legs and so on to the top, which enables the body temperature to remain balanced. This is better advice for those who suffer from high blood pressure, high levels of bad cholesterol and migraine says the professor.
Heart Attack Warning Signs And Symptoms
Recognising the symptoms of a heart attack and calling Triple Zero could save your life or the life of a loved one. Its important that everyone, both male and female, know the warning signs and symptoms of a heart attack, because early treatment is vital. The longer a blockage is left untreated, the more damage occurs. The most common heart attack warning signs are:
- Chest discomfort or pain . This can feel like uncomfortable pressure, aching, numbness, squeezing, fullness or pain in your chest. This discomfort can spread to your arms, neck, jaw or back. It can last for several minutes or come and go
- Dizziness, light-headedness, feeling faint or feeling anxious
- Nausea, indigestion, vomiting
- Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing with or without chest discomfort
- Sweating or a cold sweat.
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Check Your Blood Pressure
As you get older, it’s important for you to have your blood pressure checked regularly, even if you are healthy. This is because aging changes in your arteries can lead to hypertension. You may feel fine but, if not treated, high blood pressure could lead to stroke and problems with your heart, eyes, brain, and kidneys. To manage high blood pressure, exercise, dietary changes, and reducing your salt intake can help, but as aging changes in the arteries often cause high blood pressure in older age, medication is often necessary. It is not uncommon to need more than one medication to control your blood pressure.
Age can cause other changes to the heart. For example:
Other factors, such as thyroid disease or chemotherapy, may also weaken the heart muscle. Things you can’t control, like your family history, might increase your risk of heart disease. But, leading a heart-healthy lifestyle might help you avoid or delay serious illness.
Know Your Heart Care Options
You cant predict if a heart attack will happen. But knowing where you can get the right heart care is one thing you can do. Our nationally recognized cardiac centers include:
- Regions Hospital Heart Center in St. Paul, MN, is consistently recognized as one of the nations top cardiac centers. Youll get the highest level of care in every situation, starting with emergency treatment all the way through the recovery process.
- Park Nicollet Heart and Vascular Center, located in St. Louis Park, MN, is nationally recognized for offering outstanding, responsive care for heart attacks and other cardiac conditions. This center is accredited as a Mission: Lifeline® Heart Attack Receiving Center by the American Heart Association, so you can expect first-rate treatment, especially in time-sensitive situations.
- Cardiac rehabilitation services are offered across the Twin Cities and western Wisconsin. Recovering from a heart attack takes time, but you dont have to go through it alone. We offer personalized cardiac rehabilitation at seven convenient locations, so its easy to get the support you and your heart need.
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What Is Heart Disease
Heart disease is caused by atherosclerosis , which is the buildup of fatty deposits, or plaques, in the walls of the coronary arteries over many years. The coronary arteries surround the outside of the heart and supply blood nutrients and oxygen to the heart muscle. When plaque builds up inside the arteries, there is less space for blood to flow normally and deliver oxygen to the heart. If the flow of blood to your heart is reduced by plaque buildup or is blocked if a plaque suddenly ruptures, it can cause angina or a heart attack. When the heart muscle does not get enough oxygen and blood nutrients, the heart muscle cells will die and weaken the heart, diminishing its ability to pump blood to the rest of the body.
Find out more about heart attacks.
Causes Of A Heart Attack
Coronary heart disease is the leading cause of heart attacks.
CHD is a condition in which the major blood vessels that supply the heart get clogged with deposits of cholesterol, known as plaques.
Before a heart attack, 1 of the plaques bursts , causing a blood clot to develop at the site of the rupture.
The clot may block the supply of blood to the heart, triggering a heart attack.
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