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Heart Attacks

How To Tell If You Are Having A Heart Attack

Everyone knows that the heart is a vital organ and that we cannot live without it. This year about 1.2 million Americans will have a first or recurrent heart attack. About 479,000 of these people will die. Most people who have experienced a heart attack have never felt a symptom, or recognized what the symptoms are. Heart attacks happen in many different ways and the discomfort can come and go, which makes it easier to blame it on something else. Often the people affected wait too long before getting help, which can cause more damage or even death.
The heart is a powerful organ about the size of your fist that pumps blood throughout your body. The pumping action causes the heartbeat or pulse which pumps blood that is high in oxygen to the body through your veins and arteries. After the body uses the oxygen, the blood low in oxygen is returned to the heart. It is then pumped through the lungs to pick up more oxygen. That pumping processes five liters of blood per minute when you're resting. During a workout, you're immediately pumping twenty liters of blood per minute. Your heart can adjust to these changes no matter whatever situation you're in.
Risk factors for heart disease are traits or lifestyle habits that can be categorized in two groups; controlled or uncontrolled. Below are some risk factors that are considered controllable. They can be modified or treated:
· Smoking; nicotine and carbon monoxide in smoke reduce the amount of oxygen in the blood. It also damages blood vessels walls and increases plaque build up. Exposure to smoking contributes to strokes, lung cancer, and emphysema.
· Excessive Alcohol; A few drinks can be advantageous to your good (HDL) cholesterol, but can also contribute to high blood pressure and strokes.
· Cholesterol; too much LDL (bad cholesterol) can build (plaque) in the walls of the arteries blocking blood flow.
· High Blood Pressure; causes the heart to...