The heart is a powerful pump that pumps blood throughout the body 60-80 times per minute at rest. While meeting the blood needs of the entire body, it also needs to be nourished and receive blood. These vessels that feed the heart are called coronary arteries. When there is a disruption in the circulation of the coronary arteries, coronary insufficiency occurs. Coronary insufficiency conditions vary depending on the type, degree and location of the stenosis in the coronary arteries.
Some patients may have chest pain that only occurs during physical activity and goes away with rest, but sometimes a heart attack (infarction) may occur as a result of sudden blockage of the vessels, starting with severe chest pain and leading to sudden death.
What is a Heart Attack?
The cause of infarction is the blockage of the artery by plaque-like lesions filled with cholesterol and fat. If the blood flow is completely cut off as a result of the blockage, a heart attack (infarction) occurs, which can lead to death.
How Does a Heart Attack Occur?
The heart is a powerful pump that pumps blood throughout the body 60-80 times per minute at rest. While meeting the blood needs of the entire body, it also needs to be nourished and receive blood. These vessels that feed the heart are called coronary arteries. When there is a disruption in the circulation of the coronary arteries, coronary insufficiency occurs. Coronary insufficiency symptoms vary according to the type, degree and location of the stenosis in the coronary arteries. While some patients may have chest pain that only occurs during physical activity and goes away with rest, sometimes a heart attack (infarction) that develops as a result of sudden blockage of the arteries and starts with severe chest pain and can lead to sudden death may occur.
What Are the Warning Signs of a Heart Attack?
A heart attack is a very serious health problem that occurs suddenly, but the stages that lead to it are the product of many years. There are warning signs for a heart attack, which is the leading cause of death in the world and in our country. While individuals who are informed about this issue can easily leave the subject by taking into account the warning signs, individuals who are not informed can lose their lives. These warning signs can be listed as follows:
- Feeling of pressure, tightness, heaviness, and discomfort in the middle area of the rib cage that lasts for more than a few minutes;
- Chest pain radiating to the shoulders, neck, or arms;
- Chest complaints accompanied by dizziness, fainting, fainting, nausea, cold sweats.
How to Heal a Heart After a Heart Attack?
Depending on the extent of the heart attack, the hospital stay can range from a few days to months. If you start taking the right steps in the hospital, your heart will heal and you will be protected from another possible attack. These right steps can be listed as a healthy diet, quitting smoking, regular exercise and getting rid of excess weight.
How can we protect ourselves from heart attacks?
- By not smoking,
- By treating and monitoring high blood pressure,
- By eating a diet low in fat, salt and cholesterol,
- By choosing more vegetables and fruits,
- By exercising regularly,
- By keeping our weight within normal limits,
- If we have diabetes, we should follow the diet accordingly,
- By having regular check-ups if there is a history of early heart disease in our family.
You should take care of your heart health to protect your quality of life. In our country, 39 out of every 100 deaths are caused by cardiovascular diseases. Apart from this, millions of our people live a difficult and restricted life for the same reason. However, you can protect your heart health with some changes you make in your lifestyle. How? ‘Becel’, which conducts various studies to raise public awareness about heart health and healthy nutrition, also offers heart health suggestions on its website.
- Watch out for invisible fats! Many ready-made foods such as snacks, bakery products, and “fast food” products contain high amounts of fat. In order to keep your weight balanced, you should also pay attention to visible fats.
- Avoid animal fats. Butter, tail fat and tallow contain high amounts of both cholesterol and saturated fats. For your heart, prefer oils rich in polyunsaturated fats and margarines produced from these vegetable oils in your diet.
- Consume plenty of vegetables, fruits and grain products. These foods are rich in vitamins and fiber and are good for your heart.
