Heart Attack

Heart Attack

By Chris McLaren

Nature of the Medical Condition?

• A heart attack occurs when there is a sudden, complete blockage of a coronary artery that supplies blood to an area of the heart. As a result, some of the heart muscle begins to die. Without early medical treatment this damage can be permanent.


• What causes a heart attack? • The heart is a muscular pump that needs a continuous

supply of oxygen. It gets this oxygen from the blood, which flows to the heart muscle through arteries on the heart's surface. These arteries are called the coronary arteries.

• The most common cause of heart attack is coronary heart disease (CHD) - the slow build-up of fatty deposits on the inner wall of the arteries that supply the heart muscle with blood. These fatty deposits, called plaque, gradually clog the inside channel of the arteries causing them to narrow. It is a process that begins early in life and continues over the years.


• What causes a heart attack? Cont.• A heart attack usually begins when an area

of plaque cracks. Blood cells and other components of the blood stick over the damaged area and form a clot that suddenly and completely blocks the blood flow to the heart muscle. If the artery remains blocked, the lack of blood flow through that artery permanently damages the area of heart muscle that it supplies blood to.

Signs and Symptoms

• Heart attack symptoms vary. Not all heart attacks begin with a sudden, crushing pain that is often shown on TV or in the movies. The warning signs and symptoms of a heart attack aren’t the same for everyone. Many heart attacks start slowly as mild pain or discomfort. Some people don’t have symptoms at all (this is called a silent heart attack).

• The symptoms usually last for at least 10 minutes and you may experience more than one of the heart attack symptoms below.

Signs and Symptoms

• Pain in the chest• The most common symptom of heart attack is

chest pain or discomfort. The pain sometimes starts slowly, or may come on suddenly, or develop over a few minutes. Most heart attacks involve discomfort in the center of the chest that lasts for more than a few minutes or goes away and comes back. It may feel like tightness, pressure, heaviness, fullness, or squeezing. The feeling has been described as: 'like a steel band tightening around my chest', 'like an elephant sitting on my chest' or 'like a red hot poker in the centre of my chest'. The pain can range from severe, to moderate or even mild. Heart attack pain can sometimes feel like indigestion or heartburn

Signs and Symptoms• Pain spreading• The chest discomfort may spread to the neck and

throat, jaw, shoulders, the back, either or both arms and even into the wrists and hands.

• Discomfort in the upper body• Some people do not get any chest pain -only

discomfort in parts of the upper body. There may be a choking feeling in the throat. The arms may feel 'heavy' or 'useless'.

• Other symptomsOften there may also be difficulty breathing, nausea or vomiting, a cold sweat or a feeling of being dizzy or light-headed.

Signs and Symptoms• The symptoms of angina can be similar to the

symptoms of a heart attack. Angina is pain in the chest that occurs in people with coronary artery disease, usually when they’re active. Angina pain usually lasts for only a few minutes and goes away with rest. Angina that doesn’t go away or that changes from its usual pattern (occurs more frequently or occurs at rest) can be a sign of the beginning of a heart attack and should be checked by a doctor right away.

• • Women's most common heart attack symptom is

chest pain or discomfort. But women are somewhat more likely than men to experience some of the other common symptoms, particularly shortness of breath, nausea/vomiting, and back or jaw pain.

Primary Management Techniques

• Heart Attack Treatment • First you must conduct a primary survey of the casualty;• A primary survey consists of following the DRABCD procedure, this

involves;• D = DANGER – If I find a heart attack casualty I should check for any

surrounding danger to myself first and for the casualty and others• R = Response – I should asses whether the person is conscious or

unconscious using the COWS procedure; -Can you hear me, -Open your eyes, -What is your name, -Squeeze my hand.

• A = Airways - After response if the casualty is unconscious I should then check the airways for any obstructions or blockages and if there is a blockage turn the victim onto his/her side and clear the airway.

• B = Breathing – The next step if the patient is unconscious is to check for signs of life. Check for breathing by using look, listen and feel technique. If breathing place the casualty in recovery position, if not give 2 rescue breaths and...

• C = Compressions - If the casualty is unconscious with no breathing, start compressions immediately! Give 30 compressions. At a rate of 100 compressions per minute (approx 2 compressions per second). At 1/3 depth of the casualty’s chest.

• D = Defibrillation - If available use a defibrillator on the casualty as soon as possible.


• If the casualty is conscious attempt to sit him/her in a comfortable position and encourage relaxation and steady breathing until emergencies arrive.

• It is also vital that the blood flow to your heart is quickly restored. This is usually achieved in one of the following ways:

• Fibrinolysis • involves the use of special clot-dissolving medications

which are administered directly into the blood stream. • Angioplasty and stent implantation • Coronary angioplasty is a heart attack treatment that

aims to restore blood flow to the heart by using a special balloon to open a blocked artery from the inside


• Bypass surgery • Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Surgery is an operation

in which blood flow is redirected around a narrowed area, allowing blood to flow more freely to the heart muscle.

• • Implantable cardiac defibrillators (ICDs) • After recovering from a heart attack, some people

may develop, or be at high risk of developing, abnormal heart rhythms (arrhythmias) which could be life-threatening. In some cases, a small device can be implanted in the chest and connected to the heart in order to treat such an arrhythmia if it occurs. This device is called an implantable cardiac defibrillator (ICD).

Primary Management TechniquesRecovery

• Heart Attack Recovery • Modern treatments, along with healthy lifestyle choices, can assist

in recovering from a heart attack and greatly reduce the risk of further heart problems and relieve or control symptoms such as angina.

• The most important things you can do to reduce your risk and aid heart attack recovery are:

• Take medications as prescribed by a doctor • Be smoke free • Enjoy healthy eating • Be physically active • Control blood pressure • Achieve and maintain a healthy body weight • If the person affected has diabetes, they should also aim to keep

their blood glucose levels within the normal non-diabetic range.

Primary Management TechniquesRecovery

• Cardiac rehabilitation • The Heart Foundation and the World Health

Organization recommend that all those who have had a heart attack, heart surgery, coronary angioplasty, angina or other heart or blood vessel disease are routinely referred to an appropriate cardiac rehabilitation and prevention program for cardiac care.

• These programs are designed to help you make practical, potentially life-saving changes to the way you live. They can provide you and your family with education, information, physical activity programs and support, which can complement the help and cardiac care you receive from your GP and/or cardiologist.

Bibliography• Heart Foundation Australia. (no date). Heart

Attackhttp://www.heartfoundation.org.au/Heart_Information/Adult_Conditions/Heart_Attack.htm?gclid=CP2lje_alJUCFQykagod0AShOg

• Retrieved – August 16th

• National Heart Lung and Blood Institute. (March 2008). What is a Heart Attack?. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/HeartAttack/HeartAttack_WhatIs.html

• Retrieved - August 16th

• American Heart Association. (2008). Heart Attack, Stroke and Cardiac Arrest Warning Signs. http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=3053

• Retrieved - August 16th

• Medicine Net.com. (2008). Heart Attack. http://www.medicinenet.com/heart_attack/article.htm .• Retrieved - August 16th

• Cardiology Channel. (2008). Heart Attack. http://www.cardiologychannel.com/heartattack/index.shtml • Retrieved - August 16th

Education

Heart Attack