Heart attacks are a medical emergency and are caused by the blood supply to the heart being suddenly blocked – but there are signs that can occur a month in advance
A heart attack is a dire medical situation where the supply of blood to the heart gets abruptly cut off. According to the British Heart Foundation, there are about 100,000 admissions to hospital due to heart attacks every year in the UK – that’s one around every five minutes.
In the USA, Medical News Today reports that approximately 800,000 individuals have a heart attack annually.
Moreover, there are over 7.6 million people contending with heart or circulatory diseases in the UK, responsible for a quarter of all mortalities – more than 170,000 deaths each year, or 480 on a daily basis.
What can cause a heart attack?
The common cause is an interruption in the heart’s blood supply. Coronary heart disease sits atop the list of reasons for heart attacks, reports Surrey Live.
It’s an ailment wherein the coronary arteries, which are pivotal blood vessels for the heart, become blocked with deposits of fats like cholesterol among other substances, referred to as plaques. Typically before a heart attack, one of these plaques ruptures, leading to a blood clot and consequently blocking the blood flow to the heart, thus initiating the heart attack.
Factors like diet, lifestyle, and other conditions can escalate your risk of developing coronary heart disease:
- smoking
- a high-fat diet
- diabetes
- high cholesterol
- high blood pressure (hypertension)
- being overweight or obese.
Symptoms of a heart attack
According to the NHS, the symptoms of a heart attack include:
- chest pain
- pain in other parts of the body: it can feel as if the pain is spreading from your chest to your arms (usually the left arm, but it can affect both arms), jaw, neck, back and stomach
- feeling lightheaded or dizzy
- sweating
- shortness of breath
- feeling or being sick
- an overwhelming feeling of anxiety (similar to a panic attack)
- coughing or wheezing.
The chest pain can be quite severe, although some may experience it mildly, which the NHS likens to “similar to indigestion”.
However, there are warning signs of a heart attack that can surface a month prior. These symptoms can vary between men and women.
A 2003 survey involving over 500 female heart attack survivors revealed that they most commonly experienced the following symptoms a month before their cardiac event:
- abnormal levels of fatigue
- disrupted sleep
- shortness of breath
But only around a quarter of them experienced chest pain. Other early warning signs in women may include:
- lightheadedness or dizziness
- neck and jaw pain (often without chest pain)
- upper back pain
- chest pressure
- vomiting or nausea
- feeling of heartburn or indigestion
- discomfort or tingling in one or both arms.
Men might also experience these symptoms, but sudden cold sweat is additionally listed as an extra sign in men. Of course, it’s crucial to remember that all these symptoms could be indicative of several other conditions and don’t necessarily mean you’re suffering from heart problems.
How to prevent a heart attack
Your lifestyle is the most potent weapon in preventing a heart attack. Specifically, you should:
- eat a healthy, balanced diet
- do not smoke
- try to keep your blood pressure at a healthy level