Friday, May 1, 2009

The following are signs of heart problems

Classic Symptoms

  • Squeezing chest pain or pressure
  • Shortness of breath
  • Sweating
  • Tightness in chest
  • Pain spreading to shoulders, neck or arm
  • Feeling of heartburn or indigestion with or without nausea and vomiting
  • Sudden dizziness or brief loss of consciousness.
Signals of heart attacks in women

  • Indigestion or a gas like feeling
  • Dizziness, nausea or vomiting
  • unexplained weakness or fatigue
  • Discomfort or pain between shoulder blades
  • Sense of impending doom.

Signals of heart attacks in men

Men, that are over the age that are over the age of 45 are at an increased risk for heart attacks, And have the following signs in the immediate family,
  • A previous heart attack or procedure to open up the coronary arteries
  • Family history of early heart disease:
    –Father or brother diagnosed before age 55
    –Mother or sister diagnosed before age 65
  • Diabetes mellitus
  • High blood cholesterol
  • High blood pressure
  • Cigarette smoking
  • Overweight
  • Physical inactivity





Heart problems vary between people, thus far the doctors can give different names to it.
There are 2 different types of heart failure , chronic and acute, I'm going to explain the difference between the 2 below.
Chronic heart failure is long term heart failure that develops over time and gradually may get worse and requires long term attention.
Acute heart failure heart problems that develop rapidly and may not need long time care.


What happens when you have a heart attack

If you have heart failure, your heart has difficulty pumping blood around your body. This can happen for many reasons - commonly because you have (or had) a medical condition which has damaged the Corney artery.
Heart failure has two main effects.
Firstly, not enough blood is getting to your body, which may cause fatigue, being extremely tired. Secondly, blood backs up waiting to enter your heart. This build up of blood causes fluid to leak out of your blood vessels and into the surrounding tissues. This leads to fluid build up (happens when there is too much blood circulating through the body the pressure rises (high blood pressure) it leaks out into the surrounding tissues and causes oedmea).
When your body try's to adapt to the changes it can cause more problems.


How does your heart work

Your heart is a specialized muscle that pumps blood around your body. Blood carries oxygen and nourishment to all parts of your body and carries waste products to several organs, notably your lungs and kidneys to eliminate.

Your heart is divided into two pumps which work together. Blood coming back from the organs and tissues of your body enters the right side of your heart which then pumps it to your lungs. Your lungs remove waste carbon dioxide from the blood and recharge it with oxygen.

The oxygen-rich blood returning from your lungs enters the left side of your heart, which then pumps it to all parts of your body, including your heart muscle itself.

This process ensures that there is always enough oxygen and nourishment for your body to work efficiently.


What is heart failure

Heart failure is a common but serious and possibly progressive condition that frequently has no cure.

Heart failure is a serious medical condition where the heart does not pump blood around the body as well as it should.
This means that your blood can't deliver enough oxygen and nourishment to your body to allow it to work normally.

This, for example, may cause fatigue in your muscles. It also means that you can't eliminate waste products properly - leading to a build up of fluid in your lungs and other parts of your body, such as your legs and abdomen.

Heart failure often develops because you have (or had) a medical condition, such as
coronary artery disease ( coronary artery disease happens when the arteries narrow or close preventing blood flow), or a heart attack (aka heart failure) damage that happens to the heart muscle when the coronary artery becomes so narrow that blood can't pass through.