The most common symptoms of a heart attack include discomfort, pressure or heaviness in the chest and/or arms that can radiate to the back and throat. Discomfort may be felt in the stomach that resembles heartburn, nausea or indigestion. Sweating, vomiting, dizziness, extreme weakness, shortness of breath and a rapid or irregular heartbeat also could be indicators of a heart attack.
Fatty deposits, calcium, proteins and inflammatory cells build up within the arteries to form plaque. This plaque can get irritated and attract platelets, which stick to the plaque and form blood clots in the artery. These clots then obstruct the artery and block the vital supply of blood from getting to part of the heart muscle. Without this blood, an area of the heart becomes “starved” for oxygen and cells in that region of the heart begin to die, causing permanent damage. This is a heart attack.
Unlike heart attack symptoms, the symptoms of sudden cardiac arrest are drastic and sudden. They include collapsing, lack of pulse, severe breathing trouble and loss of consciousness. Minor symptoms sometimes precede sudden cardiac arrest and include fatigue, fainting, blackouts, dizziness, chest discomfort, shortness of breath, weakness, palpitations and vomiting. Most symptoms of sudden cardiac arrest occur as the attack happens and therefore give little or no warning.
An electrical disturbance in the heart causes blood to stop pumping to the body. This leads to the sudden and unexpected loss of heart function, breathing and consciousness.
Women and Heart Attacks
Few women have heart attacks before age 65. However, heart disease is the number one killer of women in America, claiming six times as many lives as breast cancer. Women are twice as likely as men to die following a heart attack. Why is this?
Women aren’t expected to have heart disease, so warning signs are often missed or misdiagnosed. When tests are given, false results are more common in women and the overall clinical situation more often misinterpreted. If you experience symptoms such as chest discomfort (tightness or pressure) upon exertion, insist on a full cardiology exam.
Risk factors that are more prominent for women include family history of heart disease, high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, smoking and taking birth control pills. Women who both smoke and take birth control pills have 39 times the risk of heart disease as those who do neither!
A unique and highly significant risk factor for heart disease in women is post-menopause. Before menopause, young women are protected by estrogen, which seems to slow the buildup of cholesterol and keep blood pressure in check. After menopause, this protection disappears and women eventually equal men in the rate of heart disease.
Men and Sudden Cardiac Arrest
Unlike heart attacks, sudden cardiac arrest is much more likely to occur in men. Men are three times more likely than women to experience sudden cardiac arrest. This is because, among other things, men have a greater risk of coronary artery disease, which is closely linked to sudden cardiac arrest. In coronary artery disease, the major blood vessels feeding the heart muscle become damaged or diseased and lead to a greater chance of electrical disturbances that cause sudden cardiac arrest.
Smoking puts both men and women at risk of sudden cardiac arrest, but men who smoke are three times more likely to experience sudden cardiac arrest than nonsmokers. Men also are two times more likely than women to have severe heart pump dysfunction, which is associated with respiratory symptoms and is worsened by smoking. This heart muscle dysfunction increases the chance of electrical disturbances of the heart. FBN
James Dwyer, M.D., F.A.C.C., F.S.C.A.I., specializes in cardiac catheterization and coronary interventions. He is the medical director of Flagstaff Medical Center’s Cardiac Catheterization Lab and a physician at Northern Arizona Healthcare’s Heart & Vascular Center of Northern Arizona.
The Heart & Vascular Center of Northern Arizona is a physician practice offering services ranging from general cardiology and the treatment of chronic heart and vascular conditions to advanced surgical techniques, including traditional and minimally invasive open heart surgery. Cardiovascular specialists include cardiologists, interventional cardiologists, an electrophysiologist, cardiothoracic and vascular surgeons, and specialty trained physician assistants, nurse practitioners and registered nurses. The center is a partnership between Flagstaff Medical Center and Verde Valley Medical Center, with offices located in Camp Verde, Cottonwood, Flagstaff, Sedona, Village of Oak Creek, Williams and Winslow.
By James Dwyer, M.D., F.A.C.C., F.S.C.A.I.
To schedule an appointment with Dr. Dwyer or any of the cardiovascular physicians at the Heart & Vascular Center of Northern Arizona, call 928-773-2150. For more information, visit NAHeartCare.com.