February 24, 2010
Heart Attack every 34 seconds..Save a Life!
2am the morning after I came home from the hospital with my fourth child, I received a phone call from my parents. One of them was on the bathroom floor with chest pain. To my surprise, it was not my father, who has a history of high blood pressure, but my mother, who had been healthy her whole life lying on the floor. I was not surprised that while she struggled to breathe, clutching her chest, she whispered to me, get my makeup!
Men and women are very different, but cardiovascular disease is the number one killer of both sexes. The difference is that when we think of heart disease, we still think of it in terms of how it affects men. Family members as well as health professionals still largely overlook women when it comes to heart disease.
How big of a problem is heart disease?
In the United States, someone has a heart attack every 34 seconds. Each minute, someone in the United States dies from a heart disease-related event.
Many women worry about cancer, but only 1 in 30 American women die of breast cancer while 1 in 3 men and women die of CV disease. More women die of CV disease than the next 5 leading causes of death combined including all forms of cancer.
What are the warning signs of a heart attack?
We have all seen the Hollywood Heart attack where someone clutches their chest and falls to the ground as Sanford would imitate, “You hear that, Elizabeth? I’m coming to join ya, honey!” This is actually a rare occurrence. More commonly you might see:
1. Chest discomfort.
It may be a very painful crushing pain or a feeling of pressure and fullness that goes away and comes back.
2. Discomfort in any area above the waist
This can include down the arms, back, neck, jaw, stomach and even earlobes.
3. Shortness of breath
This can happen with or without the chest discomfort.
4. Other Discomforts
This can include cold sweats, nausea/vomiting or light-headedness. These symptoms are more commonly seen in women.
Most people know about crushing chest pain as a sign of heart attack but only 27% were aware of all major symptoms and knew to call 9-1-1 when someone was having a heart attack.
What should we do if we experience these symptoms?
Don’t delay! CALL 911!!
Time is of the essence and the paramedics can give life saving medication in route and you will seen in ER quicker. Some EMS have ECG with direct connection to the cardiac catheterization lab so they skip the ED and go right to a live saving procedure.
60% of heart attack patients come by car usually after they have had symptoms for a while; thinking it might go away, it’s just stress, a pulled muscle or indigestion. Almost half of all sudden cardiac deaths happen outside of the hospital, which suggests that they did not act upon early signs. Be persistent in pursuing a cardiac workup because doctors often forget that younger people and women can have heart disease too.
How can we prevent a heart attack?
Heart disease is preventable. Life style changes can prevent 50-80% of all cardiac events. The American Heart Association has a great tool called My Life Check that assesses your personal heart score and develops a customized life plan to help you make positive changes to your health.
There are 7 SIMPLE goals that will greatly reduce risk of heart disease.
Simple 7
Smoking
Don’t ever do it and stop if you are!
By far, smoking leads to the most causes of preventable deaths.
Blood pressure
Keep less than 120/80mm HG
This is the number everyone needs to know and the measurement that is most related to longevity.
Take your blood pressure every 2 years because many people like my mom had optimal blood pressure for most of her life but as she aged, she suddenly became hypertensive. Even a small 5% weight gain (7 lbs in a 140 lb woman) can increase the risk of hypertension by 20-30%. If you have normal to high blood pressure then check annually.
Cholesterol
Keep total cholesterol less than 200mg/dl
All adults over age 20 should be screened at least every 5 years.
Blood sugar
Fasting blood sugar less than 100mg/dl
Check at least every 3 years if you are over age 45. If you are overweight or have a family history of diabetes or if you had diabetes in pregnancy then you should be screened earlier and more frequently.
Take this diabetes screening test now.
Activity
Shoot for
150 minutes per week of moderate exercise or 75 minutes per week of vigorous exercise
Healthy Diet
Shoot for
4.5 cups vegetables & fruits daily
3- 1oz servings whole-grain products daily
fish twice weekly
<1500 mg sodium daily
Weight
Maintain a weight with a Body Mass Index (BMI) < 25
Enter your height and weight here to learn your (BMI) Body Mass Index
Learn CPR
Learning CPR is an easy skill that you can acquire by taking a class, training online or even find as an iphone app.
For 3.99 you can buy and i phone app that you will give you first aid and CPR guidelines. (This app was recently used successfully by a reporter buried in rubble during the Haitian earthquake)
You can save a life. Call 911 if you or a loved one is experiencing even vague symptoms of heart disease like we did for my Mom. Fortunately, testing showed that she did not have heart disease. Don’t let one of your loved one be a statistic that never makes it to the hospital.
Blessings,
Dr. Deb
