The first signs and symptoms of heart attack in women

Myocardial infarction is a serious pathology of the heart, in which necrosis of a certain part of the heart muscle develops. The death of tissues is due to a sharp violation of the coronary circulation. Subsequently, a scar is formed on the site of the dead tissue - that is, another tissue that is not able to contract properly. Therefore, the functionality of this important organ is significantly reduced. According to statistics, myocardial infarction more often develops in older people over 60 years. At a young age, heart attack in women is diagnosed much less frequently than in men; this is due to female sex hormones. Estrogen prevents the development of cardiovascular diseases. With the advent of menopause, the production of sex hormone is reduced, the protection weakens, and the chances of developing a heart attack in women and men are evened out.In this article we will talk about the risk factors and the causes of the development of cardiac pathology in women, as well as learn how to properly provide first aid to save the health and life of the patient.

Why myocardial infarction develops

This cardiac pathology develops very quickly, depending on many reasons. Most often, blood circulation is disturbed due to blockage of the walls of the coronary vessels. Here are the risk factors that can trigger a heart attack.

1. Smoking (active and passive). Nicotine adversely affects the walls of blood vessels, making them less elastic and mobile. This also includes alcohol intake - alcohol affects the vessels in the same way.
2. Cholesterol. There are two types of cholesterol - “bad” and “good”, or high-density and low-density lipoprotein. Low-density lipoprotein adheres to the walls of blood vessels, narrows their lumen, leads to the development of myocardial infarction. High-density, on the contrary, stimulates the removal of "bad" cholesterol from the body. The risk of developing a heart attack increases with increasing bad cholesterol and decreasing the amount of good cholesterol.
3. Sedentary lifestyle. With a lack of physical exercise, blood stagnates, blood circulation slows down, vessels gradually constrict.
4. Age. Over the years, human vessels lose their elasticity, become less mobile, the risk of cardiovascular diseases increases.
5. Obesity. With regular excess calories fat is deposited not only under the skin, but also on the internal organs, the functioning of blood vessels and the heart becomes more complicated.
6. Diseases. Quite a lot of diagnoses that affect the work of the heart and blood vessels. However, some diseases are an immediate risk factor for the development of myocardial infarction, among them diabetes, hypertension, rheumatic heart disease, as well as already suffered heart attacks.

Scientists and doctors note that the appearance of such pathologies is also affected by the ecological situation. When air pollution vessels work worse.

How to recognize a heart attack in women

Cardiologists say that the first changes in the body are noticeable even before the vital parts of the heart muscle begin to die. If you take timely action,The situation is quite possible to change and save the life and health of women. So what are the signs of an impending or advanced myocardial infarction?

Among the harbingers of the disease can be noted apathy and fatigue, which does not pass even after prolonged rest and sleep. A woman may develop insomnia or, on the contrary, severe sleepiness, a feeling of weakness.

If a woman listens to the heartbeat, you can diagnose tachycardia, the rhythm becomes knocked down, sometimes it increases or slows down.

A woman may feel shortness of breath, shortness of breath, choking, and sometimes it becomes difficult to breathe.
Even before the development of myocardial infarction, a woman may notice an unusual swelling of the arms and legs, which increases by the end of the day.

The blood does not coagulate longer, it is noticeable from the received wounds and abrasions, the periodontal disease aggravates, the gums bleed more than usual.

A few days before a heart attack, a woman may feel frequent urination, which may be accompanied by intestinal upset.

The patient's neurological condition also changes - fears and panic attacks appear.

In some cases, symptoms of a cold develop — lethargy, aching joints, a slight increase in temperature, and a general deterioration of the condition.

All of the above symptoms indicate that myocardial infarction may begin at any time. More than half of women have another accurate harbinger of pathology - angina. This is a spasm of blood vessels, which manifests itself in pain behind the sternum and quickly passes after taking nitrates. If you notice a significant improvement in the condition after taking nitroglycerin, this is a bad sign - you need to get to a doctor as soon as possible, a heart attack may soon develop. If the pain has ceased to pass from nitroglycerin - the heart attack has already begun.

The acute period is characterized by such symptoms as increased cold sweating, blanching or bluing of the skin, panic attack, decreased sensitivity of the limbs.

As a rule, pain appears, which is localized more on the left side - it may be tooth or joint pain, discomfort gives to the left arm, shoulder, to the upper part of the chest. Especially in women the back of the head can hurt.

In some cases, there are various bronchospasms, shortness of breath without physical exertion, difficulty breathing, which causes pain when turning the torso.

Very often myocardial infarction is confused with bronchospasm, because many of the symptoms of both pathologies are similar. It is important to know that cough occurs when bronchospasm, but almost never has a heart attack. Also, with cardiac pathologies, medications for the expansion of the bronchi will not help, but with asthma, such drugs will quickly relieve an attack. Another myocardial infarction is easily confused with gastroenterological pathologies, for example, appendicitis or perforation of gastric ulcers. It is important to understand that in cardiac pathologies, the pain sometimes increases, then subsides, and in case of gastroenterological disorders, the pain is about the same. In addition, you should know that in diseases of the gastrointestinal tract antacids and antispasmodics do not relieve pain and do not alleviate the patient's condition. In any case, if you find at least a few characteristic symptoms, it is necessary to call a team of doctors - the bill goes on for seconds.

First aid for myocardial infarction

The call to the ambulance was made, how to alleviate the patient's condition before the arrival of the doctors? What measures should be taken to not harm a person? First of all, a woman needs to be put or planted so that she is in a relaxed state. Put your head on a slight elevation - a pillow or folded clothes (if the attack happened on the face). If the patient has developed bronchospasm, you need to find a body position in which breathing is not difficult. Explain to the woman that she should not move, it can worsen her health. To reduce the aggressiveness of the attack will help the usual nitroglycerin tablet, which must be given under the tongue. If the doctors do not come within half an hour, you must give the patient another pill. You can not give drugs for hypertension and other cardiovascular medications that the woman usually took. They do not stop an attack, but they can seriously disrupt the clinical picture, making the correct diagnosis will be more difficult. It is better to prepare all the medicines and wait for the doctor with the patient's medical card.

If a woman has lost consciousness, you need to check your heartbeat.In the absence of the latter, artificial respiration and an indirect heart massage should be performed. Do not leave a sick person until the doctor arrives. Myocardial infarction is usually diagnosed by a cardiogram, in which there are characteristic changes. In addition, blood is tested for serum enzyme activity. As soon as the patient enters the hospital, he is sent to cardiologic resuscitation, where he will receive comprehensive treatment. Myocardial infarction is a serious disease in which it is very difficult to make predictions. Further life depends on the degree of damage to the heart muscle - if more than half of the muscle is affected by necrosis, the heart, unfortunately, will not be able to perform its functions, a person dies from heart failure. The acute period falls on the first day after the development of a heart attack. If the work of the heart muscle is preserved, then the prognosis is mostly prosperous - with proper medical support, the person will live.

In the fight against myocardial infarction, it is very important to pay special attention to prevention. It is imperative that you take care of your health, lead a correct lifestyle - move more, give up bad habits, eat a varied and balanced diet.Discard a large number of salty, fatty and fried foods - this is bad for the heart, especially in old age. Timely undergo medical examination, every 5-6 months donate blood for sugar and cholesterol, monitor blood pressure. Do not forget to take drugs to maintain the health of the cardiovascular system, try not to be nervous and not to overstrain physically. And then myocardial infarction will certainly pass you by!

Video: signs of heart attack in women