The leading cause of heart attacks is CAD (Coronary Artery Disease). Cad occurs when plaque builds up in the arteries, the tubes that supply blood to the heart. After a while the plaque starts to build up and restricts the blood flow causing the muscles to work harder, this may sometimes cause some pain and discomfort. A heart attack occurs when the plaque totally blocks an artery.
Doctors have many different ways to determine if a person is at risk for CAD. One important step is to begin with the persons family heart history. Although genetics do not have all the clues or answers it is a good place to start. A basic check up that includes checking blood
pressure, cholesterol panel, and blood glucose. If you are at risk there are many test the doctor will run to determine what action needs to be taken. Some of the common test are; ECD, Echocardiogram, Exercise stress test, Chest x-ray, cardiac catheterization, coronary angiogram.
While every patient is different there are some pretty common treatments that are prescribed for people with CAD. They may include medications, or lifestyle changes, other times surgery may be necessary to repair damage. To help prevent or lower your risk of Cad the most important thing you can do is improve your lifestyle. Thinking more about what your eating, exercise everyday and do not smoke.
A heart attack is the result of blood supply being cut off from the heart a muscle that pumps blood to the rest of the body. When cells in the heart do not receive enough oxygen they each begin to die. The more time that passes without treatment to restore blood flow, the more damage that is going to occur within the heart. Having high blood pressure or high blood cholesterol, smoking and having previous heart attacks, strokes or diabetes can increase a person’s chance of having a heart attack.
According to the American Heart Association, about 785000 Americans have an initial heart attack and another 470000 have a recurrent heart attack each year. According to the CDC report almost half of the cardiac deaths in 1999 occurred before the emergency services and hospital treatments could be administered.