Steven R. Bergmann, M.D., Ph.D.
Almost every 40 seconds, someone in the United States suffers a heart attack, according to the American Heart Association.
And while chest pain is a common symptom, there are other red flags that should not be ignored.
The sooner you seek treatment for a heart attack, the greater your chances of surviving and minimizing the damage to your heart.
At Penn Medicine Princeton Medical Center a special team of board certified physicians, specialists and nurses provides life-saving emergency care for heart attack patients, including emergency angioplasty to open up blocked arteries and restore normal blood flow quickly.
What is a heart attack?
Your heart is a muscle that pumps blood throughout your body, supplying oxygen and nutrients to your cells and carrying away waste. In order to function properly, it needs a constant blood flow.
A heart attack happens when that blood flow is suddenly blocked, depriving the heart of oxygen, which can result in damage or death to part of the heart muscle.
Heart attacks are typically a result of coronary artery disease, a condition in which the arteries that supply blood to the heart become narrow from a buildup of fat, cholesterol and other substances, together known as plaque.
If a piece of plaque breaks off, it can form a clot that blocks the artery, causing a heart attack to occur.
In some instances, if blood flow is only interrupted for a few seconds, you may not realize you had a heart attack. But the longer the heart goes without oxygen, the greater the damage and the higher the risk of death.
Who is at risk?
This risk of suffering a heart attack increases with age. Men are at greater risk for a heart attack than women earlier in life. However, the risk for women increases after menopause when estrogen – and its protective properties – drops.
Other risk factors include:
- High blood pressure.
- High cholesterol.
- Family history of heart disease.
- Being overweight or obese.
- Physical inactivity.
If you are concerned about your risk for a heart attack, talk with your doctor about steps you can take to prevent an attack before it occurs.
What are the warning signs?
Recognizing the warning signs of a heart attack is your first line of defense against permanent damage. Most people suffering a heart attack experience some or all of the following symptoms:
- Chest pain or discomfort in the center of the chest. It can feel like uncomfortable pressure, squeezing, fullness or pain.
- Shortness of breath or the inability to catch your breath.
- Nausea, vomiting or stomach pain.
- Pain or numbness in other areas of the upper body, such as your arm, back, neck, or jaw.
- Breaking out in a cold sweat or becoming lightheaded.
If you or a loved experience symptoms of a heart attack, call 9-1-1 immediately and wait for an ambulance to arrive. Emergency medical technicians are often able to start treatment for a heart attack while en route to the hospital. Some people who have heart attacks have rhythm problems that can be fatal if not treated promptly. Therefore, driving yourself could delay life-saving care.
Additionally, if you think you are having a heart attack, taking two 81-milligram chewable baby aspirin can help open up the artery while you wait for emergency help to arrive.
How are heart attacks treated?
Treatment for a heart attack is focused on clearing the blockage from the artery. This may involve medication to break up the clot and prevent new clots from forming as well as emergency angioplasty to quickly open up clogged arteries.
At Penn Medicine Princeton Medical Center, a special team of interventional cardiologists and nurses is on-call around the clock to provide emergency services for patients with heart attacks, including emergency angioplasty.
The procedure is performed by making a small incision in the groin area or wrist and guiding an inflatable balloon catheter into the affected artery to open it up. A stent, or mesh tube, is usually inserted to keep the artery open.
By quickly locating and treating the site of the blockage, emergency angioplasty reduces the damage to heart muscle and helps the heart function better in the future without the need for invasive heart surgery.
After suffering a heart attack, patients are typically referred to a medically supervised cardiac rehabilitation program to help them recover and make the necessary diet and lifestyle changes, including exercise, to keep their heart healthy and prevent another heart attack.
Can a heart attack be prevented?
One of the best ways to prevent a heart attack is to lead a heart healthy lifestyle. The American Heart Association offers these simple steps:
- Stop smoking. If you smoke, quit.
- Eat a healthy diet. Choose a diet that emphasizes vegetables, fruits, and whole grains; includes low-fat dairy products, poultry, fish, legumes, nontropical vegetable oils, and nuts; and limits sweets, sugar-sweetened beverages, and red meats.
- Move more. A good starting goal is 150 minutes of exercise every week.
- Maintain a healthy weight with good nutrition, controlling calorie intake and physical activity.
- Manage diabetes and other pre-existing health conditions, such as high blood pressure and high cholesterol.
- Limit alcohol. Drinking alcohol can increase blood pressure and contribute to heart disease.
- Reduce stress. While stress alone may not cause a heart attack, studies have shown that it can contribute to factors that lead to heart disease, including eating an unhealthy diet and smoking.
By recognizing the symptoms of a heart attack and immediately seeking emergency care, you can minimize the damage to your heart and recover to lead an active and full life.
To find a physician with Penn Medicine Princeton Health, call 888-742-7496 or visit www.princetonhcs.org
Steven R. Bergmann, M.D., Ph.D., is board certified in internal medicine and specializes in cardiovascular disease. He is chairman of the Department of Medicine and senior vice president for medical affairs at Penn Medicine Princeton Medical Center.