Useful Gyan

People have a heart attack but are completely oblivious of it. Isn’t this surprising? But its true. Silent heart attack accounts for nearly 50% to 80% of all heart attacks. Silent heart attack occurs with mild or no symptoms at all. It usually misdiagnosed and ignored or mistaken for other illnesses.

Silent heart attack:

It occurs when your heart receives insufficient oxygen. The blood flow partly or completely cuts off due to plaque formation in your arteries or damages due to high blood pressure. This leads to a heart attack.

One might not notice a silent heart attack thus, it might lead to more damage. This is why it is important to notice the early signs and get the necessary treatments. There are several types of heart diseases.The most common is coronary heart disease affecting the flow of blood to the heart.This leads to heart attack.

What are the types of heart diseases?

• Heart infection
• Heart valve disease
• Blood vessel disease
• Heart rhythm problems
• Congenital heart defects or heart problems you are born with
• Heart valve disease
• Disease of heart muscle

Symptoms of heart disease:

As we mentioned earlier heart disease can be “silent” and they are not diagnosed until you experience any sign of a heart attack or failure or an arrhythmia.

Some symptoms are as follows:

Heart attack:

• Chest pain or discomfort
• Heartburn
• Nausea or vomiting
• Shortness of breath
• Extreme fatigue
• Dizziness
• Discomfort in the upper body

Heart failure:

• Fatigue
• Swelling of the feet, neck veins, ankles, legs and abdomen
• Shortness of breath

Arrhythmia:

• Palpitations or fluttering feelings in the chest

Risk factors for heart disease

• High cholesterol
• High blood pressure
• Smoking
• Diabetes
• Lack of physical activity
• Overweight and obesity
• Excessively consuming alcohol
• Unhealthy diet.

Choose to eat healthy:

Eating foods high in saturated fat can contribute to heart disease. Foods high in fiber and low in trans fats, saturated fats and cholesterol can prevent high cholesterol.

Limit consumption of sugar in your diet. This lowers blood sugar levels so that you can prevent or control diabetes that makes you susceptible to heart disease.

Limit salt in your diet. Excessive salt increases blood pressure.

Maintain a healthy weight:

People who are obese or overweight are at risk for heart disease. When you carry extra weight, it stresses your heart and blood vessels.

Engage in physical activity:

Exercise or any kind of physical activity helps to maintain healthy weight and lowers your blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar level. Walking daily for 45 minutes, swimming, cycling, etc can help immensely.

Avoid smoking and excessive consumption of alcohol:

Smoking and drinking excessively increases your risk for heart disease. So, keep a check on both. Ofcourse, if you quit smoking it would help immensely.

Often stress leads to many health issues so, try to stay calm and focus on keeping your breath normal.