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Answers About Heart Attack

Heart attack is one of the most serious problems that in some cases may lead to death. A heart attack occurs when the supply of blood and oxygen to an area of heart muscle is blocked. In most of the cases the oxygen is blocked by a clot in the coronary artery. This blockage usually leads to arrhythmias which is the irregular heartbeat and is the cause of severe decrease in the pumping function of the heart. It is also good to know that if the affected heart muscle is not treated in a few hours the heart muscle will die and it will be replaced by a scar tissue.

The heart attack might be included in the life threatening problems. That is why it is good to be informed about the warning signs and how to get emergency help. The most common death cause in heart attack patients is the late help they are given.

Statistics say that in U.S. more than a million persons suffer a heart attack and more than half of them die. A quarter of the patients die within 1 hour after the start of the symptoms.

There are specialized emergency personnel than may intervene to stop arrhythmias with emergency CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation), defibrillation or other prompt advanced cardiac life support procedures. If they intervene soon enough the blood flow in the blocked artery can be restored and might be prevented the permanent damage to the heart. Even if most of the people know that a quick intervention may have positive results they do not seek for medical care within two hours after the first symptom. Many of the patients go to see a doctor the second day.

In most of the cases the heart attack is caused by a blood clot that blocks one of the coronary arteries. In this case the part of the heart which is not oxygenated might die. Medical problems such as coronary artery disease, also known as CAD, are one of the most common causes for heart attack. This condition is described as the hardening and narrowing of the coronary arteries by the buildup of plague in the inside walls. In time, plague build up in the coronary arteries might lead to narrow arteries so that less blood flows to the heart muscle, a block of the arteries and the flow of blood, the forming of blood clots.

Other similar causes might lead to heart attacks. Among them we should remember the tightening of the coronary artery that reduces or even stops the blood flow to the heart, drug intake, emotional stress, exposure to cold or even smoking or drinking.

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