Sudden Heart Attack Symptoms And Causes

A heart attack, also called a myocardial infarction, happens when a part of the heart muscle doesn’t get enough blood. The more time that passes without treatment to restore blood flow, the greater the damage to the heart muscle. Coronary artery disease (CAD) is the main cause of heart attack. A less common cause is a severe spasm, or sudden contraction, of a coronary artery that can stop blood flow to the heart muscle. A heart attack happens when something blocks the blood flow to your heart so it can’t get the oxygen it needs. More than a million Americans have heart attacks each year. 

Chest pain is the most common warning sign of a heart attack. But there can be other symptoms, too, like lightheadedness, nausea, and shortness of breath. Symptoms can be severe or mild and are often different from one person to the next. Some people may not even notice any warning signs of a heart attack. A heart attack is a life-threatening medical emergency. The sooner you can get medical treatment that restores normal blood flow to your heart, the better your chance of a successful outcome.

According to the latest WHO data published in 2018 Coronary Heart Disease Deaths in Pakistan reached 251,220 or 20.28% of total deaths. The age-adjusted Death Rate is 237.98 per 100,000 of population ranks Pakistan #18 in the world. Review other causes of death by clicking the links below or choosing the full health profile.

Heart Attack Symptoms

Many people experience a mix of heart attack symptoms regardless of sex or gender. However, there are sex-specific differences in the presentation, biology, and outcomes of heart attacks.

A 2019 study trusted Source found that chest pain was the most common symptom in both men and women. With women trusted Source, the pain is often described as tightness, squeezing, or pressure in the chest, while men tend to describe it as a “heavyweight on the chest.”

According to the American Heart Association (AHA), women are somewhat more likely than men to experience the following heart attack symptoms:

• shortness of breath
• nausea, vomiting
• pain in the upper back or jaw
• dizziness or lightheadedness
• extreme fatigue

ResearchTrusted Source has shown that people with diabetes are more likely to have silent heart attacks compared to people who don’t have diabetes. In other words, if you have diabetes, you may not experience the typical symptoms associated with a heart attack, especially chest pain.

Many studies have been done to better understand why people with diabetes are less likely to experience chest pain and other heart attack symptoms. One explanation is that the development of neuropathy — a type of nerve damage that’s a common complication of diabetes — may interfere with the ability to feel chest pain caused by a heart attack.

According to research trusted Sources, approximately 55 percent of people with diabetes have coronary artery disease. Having impaired blood flow in the coronary arteries is a major risk factor for a heart attack.

General symptoms for a heart attack can include:

• chest pain or discomfort
• shortness of breath
• pain in your arm, shoulder, or neck
• nausea
• sweating
• lightheadedness or dizziness
• fatigue
• upper body pain
• trouble breathing

Anyone experiencing any of the above heart attack symptoms should contact emergency services immediately.

The difference between Angina and heart attack

Angina is the specific type of pain you experience when the heart is in trouble. Heart attacks, on the other hand, occur when the narrowing is severe or causes a blockage, leading to actual damage to the heart muscle. In other words, a heart attack is an actual medical condition and angina is a symptom. Chest pain caused by reduced blood flow to the heart muscle is called angina. It’s a common symptom of heart disease. There are two main types of angina:

• stable angina, the most common type of angina and one that is predictable — often occurring with physical exertion or stress
• unstable angina, which is unpredictable and should be treated as a medical emergency

An angina attack can feel like a heart attack, and in many cases — especially with unstable angina — it can be hard to tell angina from an actual heart attack. Angina is a term for chest pain that comes from not having enough blood flow to the heart. Heart attacks, on the other hand, occur when the narrowing is severe or causes a blockage, leading to actual damage to the heart muscle. In other words, a heart attack is an actual medical condition and angina is a symptom. Here’s another way to look at it: Angina is what you feel when your heart is not getting enough blood, and a heart attack is when the lack of blood flow starts to cause real damage to the heart.

Causes Of Heart Attack

A heart attack occurs when one or more of your coronary arteries become blocked. Over time, a buildup of fatty deposits, including cholesterol, forms substances called plaques, which can narrow the arteries (atherosclerosis). This condition, called coronary artery disease, causes most heart attacks. The leading cause of heart attacks is coronary heart disease. This is where plaque builds up in the arteries that supply blood to the heart. The general buildup of plaque in the arteries is also known as atherosclerosis. There are two main types of a heart attacks.

Type I heart attacks are where a plaque on the inner wall of the artery ruptures and releases cholesterol and other substances into the bloodstream. This can then form a blood clot and block the artery. 

In type II heart attacks the heart does not receive as much oxygen-rich blood as it needs, but there is not a complete blockage of an artery.

Other causes of heart attacks include:

• torn blood vessels
• blood vessel spasms
• drug misuse
• hypoxia, lack of oxygen in the blood

Heart attacks are possible without a blockage, but this is rare and only accounts for about 5% of all heart attacks. Sometimes, plaque deposits inside the coronary (heart) arteries can break open or rupture, and a blood clot can get stuck where the rupture happened. If the clot blocks the artery, this can deprive the heart muscle of blood and cause a heart attack. Several key factors affect your risk of having a heart attack. Unfortunately, some of these risk factors aren’t things you can control.

• Age and sex.
• Family history of heart disease.
• History of preeclampsia, a condition that can develop during pregnancy.
• Lifestyle.
• If you have certain health conditions or diseases.

Risk factors

Certain factors contribute to the unwanted buildup of fatty deposits (atherosclerosis) that narrows arteries throughout your body. You can improve or eliminate many of these risk factors to reduce your chances of having a first or another heart attack.

Heart attack risk factors include:

• Age. Men age 45 or older and women age 55 or older are more likely to have a heart attack than are younger men and women.
• Tobacco. This includes smoking and long-term exposure to secondhand smoke.
• High blood pressure. Over time, high blood pressure can damage arteries that lead to your heart. High blood pressure that occurs with other conditions, such as obesity, high cholesterol or diabetes, increases your risk even more.
• High blood cholesterol or triglyceride levels. A high level of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol (“bad” cholesterol) is most likely to narrow arteries. A high level of triglycerides, a type of blood fat related to your diet, also increases your risk of a heart attack. However, a high level of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol (“good” cholesterol) may lower your risk.
• Obesity. Obesity is linked with high blood cholesterol levels, high triglyceride levels, high blood pressure and diabetes. Losing just 10% of your body weight can lower this risk.
• Diabetes. Not producing enough of a hormone secreted by your pancreas (insulin) or not responding to insulin properly causes your body’s blood sugar levels to rise, increasing your risk of a heart attack.
• Metabolic syndrome. This syndrome occurs when you have obesity, high blood pressure and high blood sugar. Having metabolic syndrome makes you twice as likely to develop heart disease than if you don’t have it.
• Family history of heart attacks. If your siblings, parents or grandparents have had early heart attacks (by age 55 for males and by age 65 for females), you might be at increased risk.
• Lack of physical activity. Being inactive contributes to high blood cholesterol levels and obesity. People who exercise regularly have better heart health, including lower blood pressure.
• Stress. You might respond to stress in ways that can increase your risk of a heart attack.
• Illicit drug use. Using stimulant drugs, such as cocaine or amphetamines, can trigger a spasm of your coronary arteries that can cause a heart attack.
• A history of preeclampsia. This condition causes high blood pressure during pregnancy and increases the lifetime risk of heart disease.
• An autoimmune condition. Having a condition such as rheumatoid arthritis or lupus can increase your risk of a heart attack.

Conclusion

It’s never too late to take steps to prevent a heart attack — even if you’ve already had one. Here are ways to prevent a heart attack.

• Medications. Taking medications can reduce your risk of a subsequent heart attack and help your damaged heart function better. Continue to take what your doctor prescribes, and ask your doctor how often you need to be monitored.
• Lifestyle factors. You know the drill: Maintain a healthy weight with a heart-healthy diet, don’t smoke, exercise regularly, manage stress and control conditions that can lead to a heart attack, such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes.