Heart Attack Symptoms and Treatment Methods

The heart is an important organ that functions as a pump in providing blood circulation. In the structure of the heart, there are four cavities, two on the right and left sides.

What is a Heart Attack?

The cavities on the upper side are called the atria, and the cavities on the lower side are called the ventricles. Between the ventricles and atria, there are valves that ensure the regular passage of blood. The right side of the heart is responsible for the delivery of oxygen-poor blood to the lungs, while the left side of the heart is responsible for pumping oxygen-rich blood from the lungs to other parts of the body. The heart is basically divided into three parts called the pericardium, myocardium and endocardium:

• Pericardium: It is the protective membrane layer located at the outermost part of the heart. There is fluid in the thin space between it and the heart. The fluid between the membrane and the heart tissue reduces the friction that occurs during the operation of the heart and protects the heart from external effects.

• Myocardium: The muscle tissue of the heart is expressed as myocardium. The myocardium, which forms the middle layer, contracts and allows blood to be pumped to other organs.

• Endocardium: The endocardium, which is a thin connective tissue, covers the inner surface of the myocardium.

blood reaches the atria first. With the contraction of the auricle, the valve between the ventricle and the auricle opens and the blood in the atrium passes into the ventricle. The blood in the ventricle is allowed to pass into the great veins by the strong contraction of the heart. In addition to the vessels that carry blood from the heart to the lungs and other parts of the body, there are also cardiac vessels responsible for providing oxygen and nutritional support to the heart cells. These vessels are called coronary arteries (vessels).
Myocardium refers to the muscle tissue responsible for the contraction of the heart and thus pumping the blood. The word infarction, on the other hand, defines irreversible damage to a tissue due to not getting enough oxygen. Heart attack is one of the leading causes of death worldwide.

What are Heart Attack Risk Factors?

Various risk factors can pave the way for heart attack to occur. These can be listed as follows:

• Smoking,
• Advanced age (more common after the age of 45 in men and 55 in women).
• Hypertension (High blood pressure),
  
• Fat in the bloodstream increase in substances in the structure (LDL cholesterol and triglycerides),
  
• Diabetes,
  
• Abdominal obesity (Waist-hip ratio over 0.90 for men and 0.85 for women ),
  
• Psychological factors such as stress, depression,
  
• Insufficient consumption of vegetables and fruits,
  
• Lack of physical activity,
  
• Finding people who have had a heart attack in the family.

What are the Causes of Heart Attack?

The majority of heart attacks are and is caused by problems in the coronary arteries (veins) responsible for providing nutritional support. As a result of the occlusion of the coronary vessels for various reasons, blood flow cannot occur to a region of the heart and this results in necrosis (death) of the muscle tissue in that region. The narrowing of blood vessels is called “atherosclerosis”. Apart from atherosclerosis, a heart attack may also occur in diseases with inflammation of small vessels, during cocaine use, in vascular abnormalities, and after occlusion of the vessels due to embolism.
In cases where the body's need for oxygen increases, such as hyperthyroidism and anemia, the heart tries to balance this need by working harder. This increase in demand occurring in heart work may result in a heart attack.

What are the Symptoms of a Heart Attack?

Many symptoms occur in the body at the time of a heart attack. These symptoms are as follows: 

• Symptoms such as pressure, discomfort, pain, burning or tightness in the chest area may occur during a heart attack. This condition is called angina pectoris. This feeling can last for more than 20 minutes.
• Be careful as symptoms such as pain and numbness in the area starting from the jaw level, including the shoulder and arm, may be a sign of a heart attack.
• Difficulty in breathing is another symptom that may occur during a heart attack.
• Sweating, nausea, vomiting, Feelings of suffocation, coughing, irregular heartbeat, dizziness, drowsiness, feeling of anxiety are other symptoms that may occur during a heart attack.

How is the Diagnosis of Heart Attack?

Various criteria have been determined for the diagnosis of heart attack, and the detection of at least two of these criteria is considered diagnostically valuable. The criteria sought for diagnosis can be listed as follows:

• Presence of heart attack symptoms,
• ECG (electrocardiogram) changes,
• Detection of movement disorder in the heart wall by imaging methods,
• Detection of clots in the coronary vessels during angiography (vessel imaging) or autopsy.

All patients who apply to health institutions with chest pain are evaluated by ECG at frequent intervals. ECG application is a diagnostic tool that provides information about the working order and speed of the heart with the help of electrodes placed on the chest. It should be noted that in some people, especially women, chest pain may not be among the symptoms during a heart attack.

In laboratory examinations related to the diagnosis of heart attack, the level of a marker in the muscle cells called troponin in the bloodstream can be used. In blood tests, it is also possible to analyze substances in the form of fat and protein, which may have a detrimental effect on blood vessels. Angiography can be performed using echocardiography in the evaluation of heart structures and in cases deemed appropriate by the physician for the detection of vascular problems. It is a disease with high mortality rates and it has been determined that the deaths that occur usually occur before they reach health institutions. For this reason, attention should be paid to the symptoms and if detected, medical help should be sought by applying to the nearest health institution. Oxygen support is provided by measuring the person's blood oxygen value. Various opioid pain relievers can be used in people with high pain.&nb sp;
The main purpose of treatment in heart attack is to open the clogged area due to the problem in the vessels feeding the heart and to restore blood flow to that area urgently. For this purpose, methods such as intervention by entering the veins called PCI or using clot-dissolving drugs can be used. detected. In people who have had a heart attack, the risk continues not only at the time of the attack, but also in the following period (especially in the first 1 year). The most basic factor regarding the risk level after an attack is how much the heart muscle is damaged and how this damage affects blood pumping.
The course of the disease may worsen in cases such as diabetes, advanced age, and heart failure. For this reason, practices such as paying attention to nutrition, exercising and stress management in order to reduce the risk in people in the recovery period are examples of practices recommended by the physician to reduce the risk of new attacks.
Other than these practices, smoking cessation, body weight, blood pressure and Patients should be aware of how important the control of blood sugar is in preventing heart attack (attack risk).

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