If you want to lower your chances of heart attack, you should consult the best cardiologist in Hyderabad who will guide you properly about the related treatments and prevention measures.
However, first, it is very much essential that you understand the primary causes that lead to heart attack, its symptoms and the mode of treatment that is usually adopted by the best cardiologist in Hyderabad, India.
From here we can understand the clear idea about heart-related diseases, their latest treatments, and important precautions..
An overview of the heart disease scenario in India
With more than 70% of the Indian population facing the risk of heart disease, the country is all set to become the coronary heart illness and global diabetes capital.
The news is indeed shocking, and almost all the cardiologists in the country will agree that precautions and proper information can help a lot to reduce the affliction of heart disease in the younger generation.
Unfortunately, heart diseases are mostly caused due to bad habits and a sedentary lifestyle.
Decades earlier, gender, age, and family history were the non-modifiable factors considered the key reasons for causing heart disease. But the onset of the new millennium has changed a lot, and heart disease has now crossed all the boundaries.
Although the risk for the disease can be substantially controlled by changing diet and increasing physical activity, managing stress levels can be difficult. Here are some of the causes of heart attack and ways to lower your risk of getting a heart attack. Here is an overview of how the heart attack occurs for better understanding.
How does heart attack occur?
The heart muscles require oxygen for survival. When the oxygen-enriched blood supply, to the heart, is severely reduced or in some cases completely cut off, it leads to a heart attack. The primary cause for this is a build-up of fat, cholesterol, and other substances that are together known as plaque. This process of building up of plaque is known as atherosclerosis.
A blood clot is formed when the plaque buildup leads to the breakage or cracking of the heart artery. At times, this blood clot stops the blood flow to the heart muscles, and the heart is starved of oxygen and essential nutrients. When the heart is starved of adequate oxygen-rich blood supply, it is known as ischemia.
Ischemia can lead to damage, death, or any heart muscle and result in myocardial infarction or heart attack. Studies indicate that most of the people die of coronary heart disease (CHD) because the heart muscles could not get adequate blood supply. That is why, whenever you feel an ache or pain in your heart you must consult your nearest best cardiologist in Hyderabad.
Do you get a warning for a heart attack?
Atherosclerosis, the primary cause of heart attack shows no symptoms. One of the major reasons usually people do not get a warning of heart attack is because sometimes after the coronary artery has narrowed, nearby vessels that provide blood to the heart sometimes expand and compensate for the requirement. In this way, there can be a network of enlarged vessels in the body that brings blood to the heart and is known as collateral circulation.
These developed vessels prevent heart attacks in some people by providing the required amount of blood to the heart. Sometimes the collateral circulation network also develops after a body has suffered a heart attack and helps the heart muscles to recover.
Does a heart attack damage your heart permanently?
When your heart receives an attack, the heart muscles suffer from an injury because of loss of blood supply. The damage can vary depending upon the intensity of the heart attack and the size of the area blocked along with the time required for the injury and treatment.
When the heart muscles heal from a heart attack, it forms a scar and takes more than a few weeks for complete healing. Similarly, the rate of healing also depends upon your body's healing capacity and overall health condition. Since the heart is one of the toughest organs in the body, even though some part of it is injured, the rest of the section does not stop working.
However, since it is damaged, the heart becomes weak and loses its capability to pump blood as usual. Even then, you can reverse the working capacity of the heart by making lifestyle changes and proper treatment and also prevent further damage to it can be avoided or restricted. But for this, it is of utmost importance that you get in touch with the best cardiologist in Hyderabad.
Recovering from a heart attack
You can recover from a heart attack, enjoy real life, and live longer. The heart muscles have high healing potential and start healing immediately after the body had a heart attack. According to a medical study, it takes around eight weeks for the heart to recover completely.
However, again, the extent of damage to the heart muscles decides how efficiently the blood is pumped all through the body and the amount of loss of function depends on the location and size of the scar tissue.
More often, the heart attack survivors have some percentage of CAD, and the only treatment is not enough. The best cardiologist in Kukatpally Hyderabad can help you to understand the ways to implement lifestyle changes in your daily life and improve the quality of life.
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Are all types of chest pain due to heart attack?
Many people wonder whether most of the chest pain is related to a heart attack. The answer is no. More than heart attack the chest pain you suffer is more often due to angina or angina pectoris.
It causes recurring discomfort lasting a couple of minutes. The condition occurs when the heart muscles fail to get the blood supply and oxygen in the required amount.
The major difference between a heart attack and angina is that it does not permanently damage the heart muscles and mostly can occur when you are under emotional stress or exercising, and your body is in the requirement of more blood and oxygen for the muscle.
Unstable angina in such cases is caused because for a particular moment your heart rate and blood pressure increase. Even though, angina chest pain is not a heart attack; it is an indication that your heart has become weak and needed attention. That is why, you must consult the best cardiologist in Apollo, Hyderabad even if you have an angina attack to know how your heart is faring.
Various terms for heart attack
Different medical terms are used for heart attack depending upon the type of damage to the section of the heart or heart muscle. Here are some such terms with their meanings.
1.Myocardial Infarction
When a particular area of a heart muscle is damaged or dies due to the blocked blood supply, it leads to heart attack, and such a condition is termed as myocardial infarction.
2.Coronary Thrombosis
When a clot is formed in either of the arteries that supply blood to the heart muscle causing a heart attack, it is known as coronary thrombosis.
3.Coronary Occlusion
When a coronary artery is obstructed thereby, hindering the flow of blood to a heart muscle it leads to heart attack and is known as coronary occlusion.
The best cardiologist in Hyderabad can explain to you such things about heart attack in detail.
Causes of heart attack apart from artery blockage
Some causes of the heart attack are unexplainable even to the medical experts. In some cases, the coronary artery contracts or tremors temporarily due to which the artery is narrowed, and the blood supply to the heart muscle either stops altogether or decreases.
Medical experts believe that a spasm can occur even in healthy blood vessels as well as in the vessels partially blocked by atherosclerosis. When a person suffers from severe contraction, it leads to a heart attack. Another very rare cause of heart attack is termed as Spontaneous coronary artery dissection, which is caused when the coronary artery wall tears off spontaneously.
Cardiac arrest and Heart attack
Cardiac arrest and heart attack are not similar; however, the former can lead to a heart attack. When the flow of blood to the heart is stopped due to blockage, it leads to a heart attack. On the other hand, cardiac arrest is caused due to the malfunctioning of an electrical system of the heart. Cardiac
The cardiac arrest also is known as sudden cardiac death (SCD is a condition in which the heart stops working suddenly causing death.
The sudden death is caused due to irregular, abnormal heart rhythms known as arrhythmias. One of the most common types of cardiac arrhythmia is known as ventricular fibrillation in which the lower chambers of the heart suddenly begin to beat chaotically and stops pumping the blood. The person dies within minutes as the heart stops working due to a lack of supply of blood.
It is possible to reverse cardiac arrest if cardiopulmonary resuscitation or CPR is performed immediately and shocks are given to the heart using a defibrillator. It restores the normal heart rhythm of the heart, and it starts working normally within a couple of minutes.
Risk factors for CHD and Heart Attack
Several factors increase the risk of CHD and heart attack, and most of them are inter-related. Check out some such factors below:
1. Smoking
When you smoke a cigarette, you are exposed to both carbon monoxide and nicotine that puts the strain on your heart due to which it starts working faster. It also increases the chances of blood clot formation that can block the arteries.
Several other toxic chemicals are present in the smoke of the cigarette that damages the lining of coronary arteries causing the formation of a fur-like coating on the arteries, which increases your risk of heart attack by 24%.
2. Diet
Blood cholesterol rises when you eat foods high in saturated fat. It ultimately leads to a rise in the risk of heart attacks and CHD. To avoid an increase in the levels of blood cholesterol, you must increase the intake of oily fish that protects the heart from damage.
3. High Blood Pressure
Hypertension or high blood pressure can lead to a heart attack. Poorly controlled hypertension weakens coronary arteries thereby increasing the risk of CHD. It means that the higher the blood pressure more is your risk of heart attacks and CHD.
4. Diabetes
Increased sugar levels lead to type 1 or type 2 diabetes and can damage the coronary arteries thereby increasing the risk to CHD or heart attack.
Studies suggest that diabetic people are two to five times more likely to be affected due to CHD than general people are.
5. Obese or Overweight
Although being obese or overweight is not directly related to increased risk of heart attack or CHD, but it does contribute to increased risk for related conditions such as:
- Obese or overweight people are more vulnerable to high blood pressure
- Obese people have high levels of blood cholesterol due to a diet high in fat
- Obese or overweight people have increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes
6. Lack of Exercise
A sedentary lifestyle is one of the primary reasons that can increase CHD and heart attack risk. It directly leads to high blood pressure and obesity, the two factors known to increase heart problems.
7. Alcohol
Heavy drinking leads to high blood pressure and increases the levels of blood cholesterol. Thus, it also increases the chances of developing CHD.
More often, heavy drinkers follow an unhealthy lifestyle such as eating a diet rich in high fat, smoking and not exercising.
8. Age and Sex
As you grow old, your chances of developing CHD increases manifold. Similarly, studies suggest that men are two to three times more at risk of having a heart attack as compared to women. Here are some of the theories that give a detailed overview of why men face the risk of a heart attack more:
- Men have higher rates of excess consumption of alcohol
- Obesity is more in men than in women
- Men are less efficient in handling stress as compared to women and increased, and uncontrolled stress levels can lead to damage to overall physical wellbeing
- Women have the protection of hormones before menopause
9. Family History
If your brother, sister, or parent (first-degree relative) has a history of heart diseases such as stroke, heart disease, or angina, then, you are twice at risk of developing similar problems as compared to the general public.
10. Ethnicity
Studies by the best cardiologist surgeon in Hyderabad indicate that people belonging to certain races including those of African-Caribbean and African descent are more likely to get CHD or heart attacks.
Similarly, persons belonging to South Asian nations including India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka are five times more at risk of developing diabetes than general people. Thus, the likelihood of heart attacks and CHD in these people is much higher.
11. Air Pollution
Research says that too much exposure to air pollution, particularly traffic pollution can significantly increase your chances of developing CHD and heart attacks. A study carried out in 2011 has estimated that air pollution can be the key factor in one out of 13 heart attack cases.
{ Read about: How to Find Top Best Cardiologist in Hyderabad? }
Other reasons
1. Drug Abuse
When you use cocaine, methamphetamines (crystal meth), and amphetamines (speed) regularly, it narrows the coronary arteries, restricts the supply of blood thereby leading to a heart attack. It has been found that the use of cocaine is the most common reason for sudden young deaths due to heart attacks.
2. Low or No Oxygen in Blood (Hypoxia)
Many times the oxygen levels in the blood decrease due to loss of normal lung function or poisoning of carbon monoxide and the heart is supplied with un-oxygenated blood. It causes damage to heart muscles triggering a heart attack.
3. Aneurysm
An aneurysm is a type of blood vessel wall weakness. In this case, if the wall of the blood vessel becomes too weak, it cannot withstand the pressure of the blood flow beyond a point and bursts. Although a rare incidence, at times an aneurysm can also develop within the coronary arteries. When the coronary artery ruptures, the supply of blood to the heart stops completely, causing a heart attack.
Preventing Heart Attack
If you consult the best cardiologist in Hyderabad, India, he will give you health tips to prevent the heart attack. Here are some such tips:
1. Be Responsible To Your Health
Understanding the risks that elevate your chances of heart attack is the best way to prevent it. For example, since diabetes and high blood pressure have been found to play a significant role in increasing your chances of heart attack, you must try hard to maintain both blood sugar and high blood pressure levels. Being informed is the greatest way to prevent a heart attack.
2. Understand Risk of Heart Attack
Age increases your risk for heart attack. As you grow, your chances of cardiovascular disease increase manifold. Similarly, genetic makeup also plays a key role in heart attack risk. If your parents, grandparents or even relatives had heart disease, stroke or diabetes, your risk for that disease increases multiply hugely.
3. Avoid Second-hand Smoke
Even if you do not smoke or have quit smoking, if you are regularly exposed to second-hand smoke, you are at higher risk of getting heart disease, peripheral vascular disease, lung disease, and stroke.
4. Keep Blood Pressure Under Control
High blood pressure leads to wear and tear of the delicate inner lining of the blood vessels. The more your blood pressure, the greater are your chances of having a heart attack. Physicians nowadays advise measuring the blood at home for better accuracy. It is so because some individuals suffer from white coat hypertension, which means their B.P. shoots up only when they are in the clinic of the doctor.
Similarly, some people face masked high blood pressure that elevates when not in the physician's clinic. To prevent the onset of a heart attack, you must regularly monitor your blood pressure. For this, you must rely more on home blood pressure readings, but avoid using wrist or finger units and frequently opt for upper arm units.
5. Keep A Tab on Cholesterol Levels (Blood Lipids)
High or abnormally high blood lipids or fats are the major cause of cardiovascular disease. The blood lipids count includes LDL (bad cholesterol also known as lousy cholesterol), HDL (good cholesterol or healthy cholesterol), and triglycerides.
Your condition is good if you have a ration of lower LDL and higher HDL. Diet can only help to reduce your cholesterol levels to 10%, which is why you have always prescribed drugs whenever your report shows high LDL levels.
6. Limit Calorie Intake
The best way to restrict the chances of a heart attack is by watching the number of calories you eat every day. Eating clean and unprocessed produce that is devoid of any artificial preservatives, sweeteners and additives is the right way to eat a healthy diet.
Instead of cutting down the high carb or high-fat foods, limit their portions and increase the number of legumes, proteins, fibers in your diet so that you feel satiated for long and are encouraged to eat less. Including fresh vegetables, fruits, nuts, and natural protein sources help a lot in keeping cholesterol and sugar levels in control.
7. Exercise Daily
Make a habit of exercising daily. Walking two miles per day is the best way to keep your heart and body healthy. It is not necessary for you to walk two miles at a stretch. You can take a break, but make sure that you do a brisk walk so that the working of your heart improves. Moreover, regular exercise also leads to lowering of depression and anxiety levels. However, exercise alone cannot help you to lose weight; it takes the right combination of diet and exercise to reach your desired weight goal.
8. Do Not Be Doctor
There are different alternative therapies successful today that do offer a real option for curing heart problems. However, you must never try out any treatment or take pills without talking to the best cardiologist in Hyderabad, India, as you may have to face side effects due to drug interactions.
9. Controlling Stress Levels
Stress is a major factor when it comes to a heart attack. Increased stress levels and anxiety have been found to elevate the blood pressure leading to a heart attack or CHD. You can indulge in plenty of options that contribute to reducing stress such as sleep of 8 hours, regular exercise, laughing, attending religious services, meditation, and more.
Case Study
Client-A 45-year-old businessperson
The client was a 40+ businessperson who was obese, suffering from diabetes and hypertension, and was seriously in danger of getting a heart attack.
Problem: He was the head of his organization and was always under stress to managing both his staff and office. Moreover, with so much work to handle, he almost never had spare time for himself, let alone a few minutes for a leisurely stroll or exercise. All this was taking a toll on his health and his spouse and children kept on nagging him about making changes in his lifestyle to prevent a heart attack or any other damage to the body.
However, he always gave an excuse that he did not have time to get out and consult the cardiologist or see the family doctor and that he was too young to get an attack, and so on. Now his family and friends were anxious to make him aware of the risk of the heart attack he was carrying.
Solution: One fine day, the spouse of the businessperson decided that it is high time that her husband is introduced to the risk of heart attack and get information about the ways to stop it. However, since her husband was not ready to make an appointment to meet a cardiologist in Hyderabad, she did not know how she was going to do it.
One of her friends introduced to her to a health portal that not only had extensive information related to health but had several health experts on the panel. Here was a platform that offered everything that the wife wanted that could help her husband.
Moreover, it was readily available and possible for him to contact the experts right from his office without moving out in his spare time. All it needed was a few days of nagging, convincing, and the inflexible and hefty businessperson finally agreed to visit the portal and consult one of the cardiologists on the panel.
When he checked the health website, he came across several cardiologists located just near to his office and home. The portal not only offered contacts to the health experts but also facilitated easy appointments and chatting options so that any patient can quickly communicate with the doctor, chat with him online according to the scheduled appointment and if required visit his clinic for a better health evaluation.
Result: The businessperson read information about health, alternative therapies, and contact centers offering different types of help in losing weight, controlling hypertension, blood sugar levels, and cholesterol available in India.
He contacted some of them, scheduled an appointment with them online, and with their guidance, he was able to mend his ways, improve his lifestyle and lower his chances of having a heart attack.
What's more, he could do all this without waiting in the waiting room of a reputed hospital. Instead, the portal gave him easy access to a reputed cardiologist through his office room thereby saving his time and providing him adequate guidance on improving his health.
The best cardiologist in Hyderabad can diagnose, cure, and guide you on how to overcome heart diseases easily.
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