How to avoid a heart attack: simple tips to prolong your life

Factors contributing to the disease

Over the years, many clinical studies have been conducted that have identified the main risk factors that provoke a heart attack. They are divided into 2 groups:

• modifiable (removable);
• not modifiable (irremovable).

The first group includes, for the most part, all the consequences of an unhealthy lifestyle: smoking, obesity, high blood pressure, excess glucose and cholesterol in the blood. To smooth out these negative factors, it is necessary to exercise more physical activity, regularly adhere to a diet, and give up bad habits.

If you have diabetes or high blood pressure, strictly follow the instructions of your doctor and do not shy away from taking insulin injections or medications for hypertension in a timely manner. Be sure to carry out self-monitoring - measure the pressure and amount of glucose in the blood.

The second group of fatal risk factors includes:

• unfavorable heredity;
• male gender;
• age over 50 years.

These factors cannot be changed, but they must be taken into account when assessing the likelihood of heart problems in the future.

Complications after recovery

The more severe the infectious disease, the higher the chance of complications after recovery. Thus, approximately a third of those who have recovered experience complications from the central nervous system and the psyche.

Many survivors talk about fatigue and malaise, difficulty finding words, remembering, and decreased concentration. Some describe their condition as a kind of fog after COVID-19. Researchers report that one in three people regularly experience headaches and dizziness, loss of smell and taste, and muscle weakness.

“Many negative psychological reactions appear after recovery,” Olga Markina shares her experience. “Sometimes symptoms do not appear immediately, but several months after recovery. Patients experience malaise, drowsiness, and decreased stamina. Many people experience anxiety and fear of re-infection, even to the point of hypochondria and phobia.”

A professor of psychiatry at the University of Maryland reports that he believes that in about 30-50% of those who recover, there is an increased risk of future mental health problems, such as depression and anxiety. Also, about half of people who had symptoms of coronavirus suffer from insomnia and depressed mood.

Recent studies say that one in ten coronavirus survivors develop post-traumatic stress disorder, and a third develop depression and anxiety disorders. In addition, 54% of people develop chronic fatigue syndrome within three months of infection.

A new but not yet peer-reviewed study reports that people who recover from coronavirus are more likely to experience intracranial hemorrhage, ischemic stroke, parkinsonism, Guillain-Barré syndrome, dementia and insomnia than those who recover from other common infections, including influenza.

Assessing the risk of myocardial infarction

To prevent a heart attack, you should consult a physician or cardiologist. To identify obesity, the doctor, based on weight and height, will calculate the body mass index for further recommendations. Here at the appointment they will measure your blood pressure and give you a referral for tests. In addition to primary data on cholesterol and glucose, it is desirable to obtain results on other parameters: blood clotting, hematocrit, creatinine, hemoglobin, urea. Based on the data obtained, if necessary, the doctor will prescribe preventive treatment that will help avoid a heart attack.

How nervous do you have to be to have a heart attack?

It has long been proven that the development of cardiovascular diseases is influenced not only by our lifestyle, but also by psychological factors.

We talked with a psychologist at the Voronezh Regional Clinical Center for Public Health and Medical Prevention about why stress provokes acute heart problems (including heart attack) and how to learn to control your emotions.

How does stress affect the heart?

First, let's look at what mechanisms in our cardiovascular system are triggered by a stressful situation. When a person experiences a strong emotional shock, our heart goes into emergency mode, the purpose of which is to support the body in difficult circumstances.

The heart begins to beat faster, vigorously pushing blood through the vessels. Vasospasm occurs. Blood viscosity increases, adrenaline levels rise, and the number of fatty acids and cholesterol increases.

Cholesterol, the level of which has jumped, is deposited on the walls of blood vessels, which leads to a narrowing of their lumen. This contributes to the development of atherosclerosis, which impairs the blood supply to the heart. And accordingly, the heart does not receive enough oxygen and nutrients for normal functioning. That is why almost every second person complains of pain in the heart after a strong or prolonged emotional shock.

Also, severe stress leads to increased blood clot formation and arterial hypertension (high blood pressure). A detached blood clot, entering the heart through the bloodstream, can lead to instant death. And high blood pressure contributes to the occurrence of stroke.

The older a person is, the more often blockage of a vessel with blood clots or atherosclerotic plaques leads to myocardial infarction (heart attack). This is the most serious clinical form of cardiac ischemia, which develops due to a lack of blood supply to a certain part of the myocardium due to thrombosis of the coronary artery, resulting in the formation of a focus of necrosis.

A heart attack in thirty- and forty-year-olds in most cases occurs due to acute spasm of a coronary vessel in the absence of any heart problems in the medical history.

Let us remember that the mechanism of this entire chain of consequences is triggered by severe or prolonged stress.

What type of stress causes a heart attack?

It is impossible to answer this question unequivocally. It all depends on the individual characteristics of our body, the condition of our heart, nervous system, the presence of associated risk factors, etc.

Predisposition to cardiac diseases is determined by a complex of behavioral characteristics (smoking, low level of physical activity, unbalanced diet, etc.) and some personal characteristics associated with emotionality.

For some people, it only takes a couple of minutes of shock to have a heart attack. Some people can experience regular stress for years without any visible health problems. Of course, this still does not go away without a trace for the body. We have already written about how prolonged stress provokes the development of cancer. https://moe-online.ru/news/byd-v-kurse/1063994

Psychologists have identified life events that are more likely to provoke the development of a heart attack in a person. Most often, such stress factors include: death of a loved one, divorce, serious illness.

But not only tragic events can trigger a heart attack. Often, unexpected joy can provoke a strong emotional shock at the level of shock: news of a big win in the lottery, a winning goal from your favorite team, etc.

At such moments, a jump in blood pressure occurs, the heart rate changes, vascular tone is disturbed, etc. As a result, the heart simply cannot stand it. It is important to take into account not only the intensity of events, but also their number recently.

How to learn to cope with stress?

Stress causes general tension and an increase in the frequency of brain waves. Relaxation, on the contrary, reduces their frequency. Therefore, it is necessary to learn to relax, which will allow you to deal with stress much more effectively. Quality relaxation can be learned.

The psychologist recommends several rules of behavior that are anti-stress:

1. Do deep, slow breathing. When people feel stressed, they breathe quickly and shallowly. This can lead to muscle tension due to insufficient oxygen supply to the tissues. Relax your muscles and take a few deep breaths.
2. Make your days off as varied as possible. If weekdays are usually hectic, use the weekends for a relaxing break. If your workdays are filled with tasks that require you to do alone, then on the weekends, lead a more social lifestyle.
3. Record your successes and achievements. Remembering good things can reduce your irritation.
4. Seek emotional support from family and friends. After all, feeling loved and cared for by others contributes to joy, happiness and health.
5. Rebuild your lifestyle: give up bad habits, organize your sleep and diet.

Whatever happens, remember the common truth: there are always at least two ways out of any situation, and we only have one health. Learn to cope with your emotions and be healthy!

The material was prepared within the framework of the national project “Demography”

How to avoid a heart attack: simple tips to prolong your life

How to avoid a heart attack? In order to get an answer to this question, you need to know what a heart attack is.

First of all, this disease involves problems with blood circulation that arise in the heart muscle. The cause is blockage or spasm of a blood vessel, which results in the death of myocardial tissue.

It's no secret that heart attack is one of the most common fatal diseases. Moreover, young people are increasingly becoming victims of this disease. People who have just turned 30 often die from heart attacks.

What most often provokes a heart attack? The first is emotional experiences and stress, the second is physical fatigue, which is not easy to avoid in the modern world. It happens that the patient does not even suspect that he is already susceptible to a pre-infarction state. In this case, the attack occurs suddenly. How to avoid a heart attack? Let's look at prevention methods and risk factors in more detail.

How to avoid a heart attack by leading a healthy lifestyle

You can avoid a heart attack if you strictly follow all the instructions described in medical manuals. First, doctors recommend undergoing special (drug) therapies aimed at reducing cholesterol levels and the number of blood clots. In addition, it is suggested to take beta blockers and adrenergic blockers for the heart. The main goal is to lower blood pressure.

But first, of course, it’s worth assessing how susceptible you are to this disease. And to do this, you need to understand exactly what reasons could lead your body to cardiac ischemia:

1. Overweight. As fat mass in the body increases, the number of blood vessels also increases, which significantly affects the load on the heart. In addition, with obesity, a heart attack is preceded by the onset of diabetes and “jumping” blood pressure. In order to avoid a heart attack, it is necessary to assess excess weight. To do this, you need to calculate the body mass index: a person’s weight in kilograms divided by the height of the same person in meters squared. To understand: the optimal number is considered to be in the range from 20 to 25.
2. Lack of normal nutrition . You can avoid a heart attack by eating more fish, fresh fruits and vegetables. It is recommended to reduce salt intake.
3. Minimum physical activity . Without it, it is impossible to avoid obesity and high blood sugar. Moreover, sport in some cases helps in preventing a recurrent heart attack.
4. Smoking and alcoholism . Bad habits are the causes of ischemia. So, in a smoker this occurs due to the fact that nicotine has a vasoconstrictor effect. Alcohol abuse complicates the course of coronary heart disease, often leading to myocardial infarction. People at risk are only allowed dry red wine, particularly with meals and in small quantities.
5. Hypertension . If you already have high blood pressure, it is better to constantly monitor the situation. Hypertension is a significant risk factor for heart attack. You can avoid a terrible diagnosis if you bring your blood pressure back to normal by taking medications and homeopathic remedies.
6. Stress . A constant negative state causes contractions of the heart muscle with a huge release of blood. In this regard, doctors recommend remaining calm in any, even the most stressful situations. It's better to avoid stress than to have a heart attack.

How to avoid a heart attack by following a balanced diet

Huge portions, gluttony, fatty, fried foods, baked goods and desserts - everything that can lead to a heart attack. These are all high carbohydrate foods. In order to avoid a heart attack, you need to switch to the right diet.

What is a balanced diet? First of all, it is taking in enough proteins, fats and carbohydrates. In such a diet, a large role is given to light varieties of meat (chicken, rabbit, white fish, etc.), fresh vegetables and fruits rich in vitamins and minerals. At the same time, it is forbidden to eat fatty, spicy dishes and foods. It's best to avoid them.

What's useful:

• Dried fruits;
• Spicy herbs (parsley, dill, cilantro);
• Leaf salads;
• Spinach;
• Cabbage;
• Brussels sprouts;
• Yellow and red vegetables and fruits (pumpkin, tomatoes, peppers, plums, peaches);
• Cereals;
• Green bean;
• Lentils;
• Beef liver;
• Eggs;
• Vegetable oils (unrefined, not heat-treated, 1-2 tbsp per day);
• Nuts (limited, about 1 handful per day);
• Fatty fish (salmon, mackerel, herring, haddock, no more than 2-3 times a week);
• Seafood (wild, not farmed);
• Onion;
• Garlic;
• Sour fruits and berries;
• Apples.

What's harmful:

• Alcohol (excessive consumption);
• Salt (recommended up to 5 grams per day);
• Animal fats;
• Coffee;
• Shrimp, especially large ones;
• Deep-fried dishes;
• Mayonnaise, margarine;
• Smoked meats.

Food that is steamed or baked in the oven is considered healthy. Those who want to avoid a heart attack should not eat fried foods at all.

How to avoid heart attacks for men

Most often, representatives of the stronger half of humanity are susceptible to coronary heart disease. If we take into account people aged 21-50 years, then in this category the number of sick men exceeds the number of women suffering from the disease by five times. If we consider the category of 51-60 years, then the ratio is 2 to 1. At the same time, as doctors assure, today the proportion of sick men aged about 40 is growing significantly.

Heredity is also an important factor. A history of heart disease in your family may indicate that you may have it. At the same time, concomitant diseases that also indicate a possible risk of heart attack in your family are diabetes mellitus and high blood pressure.

If all of the above is already included in the list of diseases of your relatives, then you should not aggravate the problem. Lead a healthy lifestyle, do not abuse alcohol, quit smoking, stop being nervous over trifles and move more.

How to avoid heart attacks in women

According to statistics, heart attacks in women occur approximately 10-15 years later than in men. Doctors can tell why exactly the attack occurred in almost all cases. Among the reasons: blood clots in the coronary artery, its spasm due to angina pectoris and/or an undesirable effect after surgical interventions.

Experts also note that there are other reasons, knowledge of which will help avoid a heart attack:

1. Working in the cold . At low temperatures, a narrowing of blood vessels is observed, especially when we are talking about working without mittens or gloves. In the cold, there is increased stress on the body, which means the heart has to work harder. With narrowed vessels, this process leads to angina pectoris, and then to myocardial infarction.
2. Staying in traffic jams for a long time. If you often have to stand in traffic jams or breathe air with an extremely high concentration of harmful substances for a long time, then you put yourself at risk of a heart attack. Choking exhaust fumes prevent your red blood cells from distributing oxygen throughout your body, without which your heart muscle has to work harder. The result of this is the “wear and tear” of the tissues and their necrosis, which can lead to a heart attack.
3. Binge eating. When a person eats food, he actually forces blood to fill the enlarged vessels of the gastrointestinal tract. If you have problems (for example, atherosclerosis), then the normal course of the process will not occur. As a result, difficulties with blood flow can arise not only in the vessels of the gastrointestinal tract, but also in the functioning of the heart. It is for this reason that attacks of angina and heart attack often occur after a heavy meal. In this regard, doctors advise avoiding large portions, limiting the weight of the dish to 200 grams for women and 300 grams for men.

How to avoid a heart attack: prevention

What to do to avoid a heart attack? Do everything that helps eliminate existing coronary disease, reduce the risk of blood clots in blood vessels, and the development of metabolic problems in the body.

Prevention of heart attack depending on age

1st category: 20-29 years old . First, understand which doctor you can work with to overcome the disease. It is better if this person keeps his finger on the pulse and knows the latest options for preventing heart disease.

Then begin to undergo the mandatory procedure of medical examinations and studies. Watch your weight and blood pressure, don't overeat. At least once a week, go for a run in the park or simply devote time to sports. The weekly format will help you quickly get used to physical exercise, and thereby avoid a heart attack.

One last piece of advice: quit smoking and encourage those who expose you to secondhand smoke to do the same.

2nd category: 30-39 years old. Talk to your wife/husband and children. Maybe they are ready to support you in jogging or playing sports? And it’s even better if you manage to actively relax in the fresh air. By the way, having a dog in the house helps in this endeavor. So you will have to constantly walk your pet and run with it.

The second important point: find out whether any of your close relatives suffered from heart disease, and whether any of them died from a heart attack. Tell your doctor what you find out.

Take time not only for work, but also for your personal life. Reduce your load if you feel overly tired, avoid stressful situations.

Yoga, Eastern practices and communication with God (of course, if you are a believer) help calm your nerves.

Doctors advise the weaker half of humanity to monitor the condition of the thyroid gland.

3rd category: 40-49 years old. During this period, a person experiences a problem such as deterioration of metabolism. Try to avoid weight gain by exercising and monitoring the level of glycated hemoglobin in your blood. It is enough to undergo the procedure once every three years. Consume fewer carbohydrates, strive to reduce glycated hemoglobin to 5.5% or less. If the indicator is higher, then the likelihood of a heart attack increases by 28%. If hemoglobin is more than 6.5%, then consider this a sign of diabetes. Advice for men: If you snore in your sleep, get tested for sleep apnea.

4th category: 50-59 years old. Write down all the symptoms of a heart attack and constantly re-read this list. If you are a man, then you can easily identify an attack. In the strong half of humanity, the symptoms of a heart attack are usually pronounced. In women, on the contrary, identifying a pre-infarction condition is not so easy. They are advised to consult a doctor with any suspicions, monitor blood pressure, glycated hemoglobin, cholesterol and other indicators. If your doctor deems it necessary, take the prescribed medications.

5th category: 60 years and older. Just as you spent time at work, spend time on your health. Watch your body weight, eat more often, but little by little. Try to play sports, monitor the condition of your blood vessels. Avoid the occurrence and/or development of atherosclerosis, varicose veins and other dangerous diseases.

Medications

Is it possible to prevent a heart attack with medications? Doctors are sure yes. Most often, such prevention is aimed at solving problems that precede the disease. These include high blood pressure, atherosclerosis, coronary heart disease, and thrombosis.

Doctors often prescribe acetylsalicylic acid (aspirin). The drug is taken once a day, 100 mg tablet after lunch. Aspirin, according to experts, thins blood clots, thereby preventing the formation of blood clots in the vessels. Those who suffer from a tendency to bleeding, ulcers and hemophilia should not take the drug. Pharmacies today sell many derivatives of aspirin, which are presented as preventive drugs that help avoid a heart attack.

A special role in the prevention of heart attack is played by the fight against high blood pressure and hypertension. In this situation, medications are prescribed that stimulate vasodilation. In addition, with the help of “chemistry” it is possible to avoid, or rather eliminate, such a risk factor as cholesterol in the blood. However, doctors remind: statins are prescribed by professionals, and their treatment should be constant and continuous. Only in this case a positive result is possible.

How to avoid another heart attack

What to do to avoid a recurrence of a heart attack? Even if the treatment of dead myocardial tissue goes well and the patient does not feel a worsening of the condition, doctors are confident that the victim, in any case, will be susceptible to new attacks. Most often, it is this fact that is most difficult for a heart attack survivor to come to terms with.

To avoid a second heart attack, the patient is prescribed aspirin and Ticlopidine. Taking them allows you to reduce the number of blood clots formed in the vessels. To avoid high blood pressure, beta blockers are prescribed.

But most often, patients stop taking the pills of their own free will, which provokes the onset of new heart attacks and death. At the same time, ignoring the advice of doctors, they continue to lead a passive lifestyle. Although normalizing heart function often requires only 10 minutes of daily walking.

You can avoid a second heart attack if you optimize your diet. The diet must be prescribed by your cardiologist. Most likely, he will advise you to eat more green fruits and vegetables, reduce your intake of fatty, spicy, and anything else that involves large amounts of cholesterol. It is also not recommended to drink coffee or use a lot of spices and salt in cooking.

An important role in the rehabilitation of the patient is played by his mental and emotional state. After a heart attack, it is recommended to avoid stressful and anxious situations and use sedatives. It is especially important that close and dear people be near the patient.

Of course, to avoid a recurrence of a heart attack, you need to say goodbye to bad habits forever. Alcohol and cigarettes should be a thing of the past.

In fact, as experts say, a heart attack can be avoided even if it has already happened. The main thing is to follow the recommendations that the doctor gave you.