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HEART DISEASE
I am in a hurry and very excited here, LOL, just knew about the new added daily task from my daughter @ninski and even if I still don’t have a topic in mind, here I am trying to create a brand new blog just to be able to participate in the new daily task and to enjoy the new rewards. Had it is known to me early I should have submitted my very recent blog today instead of yesterday, yes I just submitted a blog yesterday.
Anyhow, I would like to start a series of blogs about common illness, its symptoms, causes and medication. I know this will help each one of us to keep away from those things that could trigger a particular illness and if in case we already acquired such, we will know what to do and the best way to get rid of it away from our system. At least the basics, prior to seeking of professional medical help.
According to the World Health Organization, heart disease topped the global risk of mortality followed by tobacco use, high blood glucose, physical inactivity and obesity. So I have to start with heart disease and probably followed by Diabetes, Cancer and the like.
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What is heart disease?
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Heart disease describes a range of conditions that affect your heart. Diseases under the heart disease umbrella include blood vessel diseases, such as coronary artery disease; heart rhythm problems (arrhythmias); and heart defects you're born with (congenital heart defects), among others. – Mayo Clinic
As mentioned earlier CVD or Cardiovascular diseases (often used interchangeably with the term “heart disease”) are the leading causes of death worldwide. CVD is composed of disorders like coronary heart disease, congenital heart disease, deep vein thrombosis and many more, these conditions involved narrowed or clogged blood vessels, which can lead to a heart attack or stroke, which means these disorders are associated with the heart and blood vessels.
What are the signs or symptoms of heart attack?
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I remember there was one time when I had a heated argument with one of my colleagues after another colleague was hospitalized due to heart attack. We were arguing about symptoms which he insist that back pain is too far to be a symptom of a heart attack. Anyway here’s few of the symptoms of heart attack such that if we notice or observe those we should seek professional assistance immediately.
1. Chest Pain or discomfort
This caused by a blocked cardiac artery or an approaching heart attack. When you feel a certain pressure in your chest which is kind of severe and prolonged, you must call emergency (or 911 if you have) right away, although if the pain last only a few seconds or very brief and mild it is probably not a symptom of heart attack. But still we should not take those for granted as prevention is always better than cure.
2. Shortness of breath or breathlessness
Shortness of breath known medically as dyspnea is a common indicator of a heart attack. This usually happens when the heart fails to function normally. We all know that the heart functions is to pump blood throughout the body which supplies oxygen and nutrients to all other organs of the body such that they will also function efficiently. This condition should be treated immediately otherwise it could lead to a more serious complicated ailment.
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Other signs or symptoms include:
- Pain, numbness in your legs or arms
- Pain in the neck, upper abdomen or back
- Intense sweating
- Abnormal or irregular heartbeat
- Exhaustion or tiredness
- Dizziness
So these are the symptoms that if and when we experience it we should not failed to take action for doing the right thing could somehow save our lives. And there’s one thing more that I learned from my research and would want to share here to you is that if your pain comes and go this is usually a sign of something more serious and when you experience a “traveling” type of pain, when I say traveling that means when today you feel pain in your neck and gone the next day and then in your ear or jaw, you better pay a quick visit to your doctor.
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Causes of heart attack
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According to Mayo Clinic, “A heart attack occurs when one or more of your coronary arteries become blocked. Over time, a coronary artery can narrow from the buildup of various substances, including cholesterol (atherosclerosis). This condition, known as coronary artery disease, causes most heart attacks.”
Based on the statement above, cholesterol plays a vital role or considered as a major factor that caused heart attack, which means we should maintain a healthy lifestyle and consume only healthy foods in order to maintain our cholesterol in normal level.
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Medication
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Several drugs and surgeries are used to treat heart ailments, and these include Aspirin. Aspirin will help reduces blood clotting thereby helps maintain blood flow. As far as I know, medical personnel may instruct you to take aspirin at the onset and knew also about aspirin to be a maintenance medicine after surviving a heart attack. My colleague who survived a mild heart attack is now taking aspirin every day for life.
Statistics/Facts – For general knowledge
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- In 2008, 25% of deaths is caused by heart disease in the United States.
- 610,000 people died of heart disease in the US every year.
- 735,000 Americans have a heart attack, of the 735,000, 210,000 experience it the second time.
- Coronary Heart disease is the common type of heart disease which claim 370,000 people every year in the US alone.
- Heart attack occurs every 20 seconds, and a heart attack death occurs every minute.
- People over 75 years of age are prone to a silent heart attack especially diabetic patients.
- Women under the age of 50 are twice more likely to die of a heart attack than men of the same age.
- Cost related to heart attack exceed 60 billion dollars per year
- Heart attack can occur in young people. So no matter what your age, you should not neglect the warning signs of heart attack.
- The importance of knowing the signs and symptoms of a heart attack is that we can act fast, and we should bear in mind that the chances of survival is higher when emergency treatment begins quickly.
- Again for people aged 75 or more, they should visit their physician or cardiologist on a regular basis as they are susceptible to silent heart attack.
- Lastly I would suggest that we should bring with us aspirin at all times just in case we need it, at least the time spent to go to the drug store to buy and coming back would be saved.
BE SAFE EVERYONE!
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Check this video to know more about things to do and food to eat to avoid the possibility of getting a heart disease.
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(embedded QUERLO interactive chat about Health and Wellness)
