What to do after a heart attack?
Having a heart attack is scary, and you might wonder how it will affect your life and whether you'll have another one. Fear, anger, guilt and depression are all common after a heart attack. Discussing them with your doctor, a family member or a friend might help.
How to prevent heart attack?
Exercise. Regular exercise helps improve heart muscle function after a heart attack and helps prevent a heart attack. Get at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity or 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity a week, or a combination of moderate and vigorous activity. Maintain a healthy weight.
How does an echocardiogram help?
An echocardiogram can help identify whether an area of your heart has been damaged. Coronary catheterization (angiogram). A liquid dye is injected into the arteries of your heart through a long, thin tube (catheter) that's fed through an artery, usually in your leg or groin, to the arteries in your heart.
How long does it take to recover from a cardiac rehab?
Most hospitals offer programs that might start while you're in the hospital and continue for weeks to a couple of months after you return home. Cardiac rehabilitation programs generally focus on four main areas — medications, lifestyle changes, emotional issues and a gradual return to your normal activities.
How long does it take to recover from a heart attack?
If possible, however, you might have bypass surgery after your heart has had time — about three to seven days — to recover from your heart attack.
What is the best medicine for heart failure?
Beta blockers. These medications help relax your heart muscle, slow your heartbeat and decrease blood pressure, making your heart's job easier. Beta blockers can limit the amount of heart muscle damage and prevent future heart attacks. ACE inhibitors.
What tests are done to check for a heart attack?
If you've had or are having a heart attack, doctors will take immediate steps to treat your condition. You might also have these additional tests. Chest X-ray. An X-ray image of your chest allows your doctor to check the size of your heart and its blood vessels and to look for fluid in your lungs. Echocardiogram.
How to get help for a heart attack?
Call 911 or your local medical emergency number. Don't ignore or attempt to tough out the symptoms of a heart attack for more than five minutes. If you don't have access to emergency medical services, have a neighbor or a friend drive you to the nearest hospital. Drive yourself only as a last resort, and realize that it places you ...
What to do if you have a heart attack and you are unconscious?
You may be advised to begin cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). If you haven't received CPR training, doctors recommend skipping mouth-to-mouth rescue ...
How to deal with stress in your life?
Control stress. Reduce stress in your day-to-day activities. Rethink workaholic habits and find healthy ways to minimize or deal with stressful events in your life. If you drink alcohol, do so in moderation.
How to reduce blood pressure and cholesterol?
Maintain a healthy weight. Excess weight strains your heart and can contribute to high cholesterol, high blood pressure and diabetes. Eat a heart-healthy diet . Saturated fat, trans fats and cholesterol in your diet can narrow arteries to your heart, and too much salt can raise blood pressure.
How long does it take for a heart attack to cause chest pain?
A heart attack generally causes chest pain for more than 15 minutes, but it can also have no symptoms at all. Many people who experience a heart attack have warning signs hours, days or weeks in advance.
What is the pain in the center of the chest?
Uncomfortable pressure, fullness or squeezing pain in the center of the chest. Discomfort or pain spreading beyond the chest to the shoulders, neck, jaw, teeth, or one or both arms, or occasionally upper abdomen. Shortness of breath. Lightheadedness, dizziness, fainting. Sweating.
What are the symptoms of a heart attack?
Someone having a heart attack may experience any or all of the following: 1 Uncomfortable pressure, fullness or squeezing pain in the center of the chest 2 Discomfort or pain spreading beyond the chest to the shoulders, neck, jaw, teeth, or one or both arms, or occasionally upper abdomen 3 Shortness of breath 4 Lightheadedness, dizziness, fainting 5 Sweating 6 Nausea
What is a heart attack called?
The type of heart attack (also called myocardial infarction, or MI) you experienced determines the treatments that your medical team will recommend. A heart attack occurs when a blockage in one or more coronary arteries reduces or stops blood flow to the heart, which starves part of the heart muscle of oxygen.
What is the ischemia guided strategy?
Both may involve a test called cardiac catheterization to examine the inside of your heart: The ischemia-guided strategy uses various drugs (antiplatelet agents and anticoagulants) to inhibit blood clot formation. The early invasive strategy will start with the use of various drugs (antiplatelet agents and anticoagulants) to inhibit blood clot ...
What is a stent used for?
Stent procedure: A stent is a wire mesh tube used to prop open an artery during angioplasty. Transmyocardial revascularization (TMR): A laser is used to drill a series of holes from the outside of the heart into the heart’s pumping chamber.
What is bypass surgery?
Bypass surgery: Treats blocked heart arteries by creating new passages for blood to flow to your heart muscle. Cardiomyoplasty: An experimental procedure in which skeletal muscles are taken from a patient’s back or abdomen. Heart transplant: Removes a diseased heart and replaces it with a donated healthy human heart.
What is the early invasive strategy?
The early invasive strategy will start with the use of various drugs (antiplatelet agents and anticoagulants) to inhibit blood clot formation, but might also proceed to a medical therapy, a PCI with stenting or coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), followed by certain types of post-hospital care.
What is PCI in hospitals?
About 36 percent of hospitals in the U.S. are equipped to use a procedure called percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), a mechanical means of treating heart attack. At a hospital equipped to administer PCI, you would likely be sent to a department that specializes in cardiac catheterization, sometimes called a “cath lab.”.
Can calcium channel blocker be used for high blood pressure?
They may be prescribed for outpatient high blood pressure use if the patient is at risk for heart failure. Calcium channel blocker: Interrupts the movement of calcium into the cells of the heart and blood vessels. May decrease the heart’s pumping strength and relax the blood vessels.
What is the most common cause of death in the initial stages of myocardial infarction?
The patient should be transported to the hospital in an ambulance. A type of arrhythmia known as ventricular fibrillation (VF) is the most common cause of death in the initial stages of myocardial infarction. This is only one of the several heart attack complications that arises within minutes to hours that can cause death.
What veins are used to bypass a blocked artery?
The blocked arteries may be bypassed by taking a graft of another blood vessel and thus restoring blood flow to the heart. A vein from the leg (saphenous vein) is most commonly used. Chest wall arteries, particularly the left internal mammary artery, are also used as bypass grafts.
Can a heart attack save a person's life?
The signs and symptoms of a heart attack (myocardial infarction) often leads to panic, both on the part of the person having the heart attack and those around them. However, early intervention, even by a person with basic emergency care knowledge, can save the life of the heart attack patient.
Can beta blockers be used for heart failure?
Beta blockers. IV atenolol or metoprolol in the acute stage may reduce the risk of cardiac rupture. However, they cannot be used in patients with heart failure or bradycardia (low heart rate). Beta-blockers may be continued long term and may be useful in lowering the blood pressure in hypertensive patients.
What to do if someone has a heart attack?
What to do if you or someone else may be having a heart attack 1 Call 911 or your local emergency number. Don't ignore the symptoms of a heart attack. If you can't get an ambulance or emergency vehicle to come to you, have a neighbor or a friend drive you to the nearest hospital. Drive yourself only if you have no other option. Because your condition can worsen, driving yourself puts you and others at risk. 2 Chew and swallow an aspirin while waiting for emergency help. Aspirin helps keep your blood from clotting. When taken during a heart attack, it could reduce heart damage. Don't take aspirin if you are allergic to it or have been told by your doctor never to take aspirin. 3 Take nitroglycerin, if prescribed. If you think you're having a heart attack and your doctor has previously prescribed nitroglycerin for you, take it as directed while waiting for emergency medical help. 4 Begin CPR if the person is unconscious. If the person isn't breathing or you don't find a pulse, begin CPR to keep blood flowing after you call for emergency medical help.#N#Push hard and fast on the center of the person's chest in a fairly rapid rhythm — about 100 to 120 compressions a minute. 5 If an automated external defibrillator (AED) is immediately available and the person is unconscious, follow the device instructions for using it.
How long does chest pain last after a heart attack?
Nausea, indigestion, heartburn or abdominal pain. A heart attack generally causes chest pain for more than 15 minutes. Some people have mild chest pain, while others have more-severe pain. The discomfort is commonly described as a pressure or chest heaviness, although some people have no chest pain or pressure at all.
How to treat heart attack with nitroglycerin?
If you think you're having a heart attack and your doctor has previously prescribed nitroglycerin for you, take it as directed while waiting for emergency medical help. Begin CPR if the person is unconscious . If the person isn 't breathing or you don't find a pulse, begin CPR to keep blood flowing ...
What does it mean when your chest hurts?
Pain or discomfort that spreads to the shoulder, arm, back, neck, jaw, teeth or occasionally upper abdomen. Nausea, indigestion, heartburn or abdominal pain. Shortness of breath. Lightheadedness, dizziness, fainting.
How to do CPR if you are unconscious?
Begin CPR if the person is unconscious. If the person isn't breathing or you don't find a pulse, begin CPR to keep blood flowing after you call for emergency medical help. Push hard and fast on the center of the person's chest in a fairly rapid rhythm — about 100 to 120 compressions a minute.
How long does it take to go home after a heart attack?
Depending upon the severity of the heart attack and how quickly you received treatment, you may be able to go home in 2 to 4 days. When You Get Home From the Hospital.
How long after a heart attack can you go to the ICU?
But if there’s a reasonable chance that the pain is due to a heart attack or other serious condition, you will be. For the first 24 hours after a heart attack, you’re usually in a coronary care unit (CCU) or an intensive care unit (ICU). There, skilled staff will closely check your heart.
What to expect when you arrive at the emergency room?
If there’s time, have a loved one let your doctor know what’s going on. What to Expect When You Arrive. Emergency rooms treat the most serious illnesses first. If you arrive with symptoms of a heart attack, they’ll see you quickly. Doctors will work to confirm your diagnosis, relieve your symptoms, and treat the problem.
What to do if you feel it's an emergency?
If you feel it’s an emergency, call 911 and ask them to send an ambulance right away. EMS personnel can start caring for you or your loved one immediately, and they’ll alert the emergency room to let them know you are coming. If you have these symptoms, go to the emergency room immediately:
What is an EKG?
An electrocardiogram (EKG) to diagnose a heart attack. Electrocardiographic (EKG) monitoring to screen for abnormal heart rhythms, called arrhythmias. Blood tests to confirm a heart attack. Medications, such as nitroglycerin, aspirin, and clot-busting drugs.
Diagnosis
Treatment
- Heart attack treatment at a hospital
Each minute after a heart attack, more heart tissue deteriorates or dies. Restoring blood flow quickly helps prevent heart damage. - Medications
Medications to treat a heart attack might include: 1. Aspirin.The 911 operator might tell you to take aspirin, or emergency medical personnel might give you aspirin immediately. Aspirin reduces blood clotting, thus helping maintain blood flow through a narrowed artery. 2. Thrombolytics.Th…
Clinical Trials
- Explore Mayo Clinic studiestesting new treatments, interventions and tests as a means to prevent, detect, treat or manage this condition.
Lifestyle and Home Remedies
- To improve your heart health, take the following steps: 1. Avoid smoking.The most important thing you can do to improve your heart's health is to not smoke. Also, avoid being around secondhand smoke. If you need to quit, ask your doctor for help. 2. Control your blood pressure and cholesterol levels.If one or both of these is high, your doctor can prescribe changes to your …
Coping and Support
- Having a heart attack is scary, and you might wonder how it will affect your life and whether you'll have another one. Fear, anger, guilt and depression are all common after a heart attack. Discussing them with your doctor, a family member or a friend might help. Or consider talking to a mental health provider or joining a support group. It's important to mention signs or symptoms o…
Preparing For Your Appointment
- A heart attack usually is diagnosed in an emergency setting. However, if you're concerned about your risk of heart attack, see your doctor to check your risk factors and talk about prevention. If your risk is high, you might be referred to a heart specialist (cardiologist). Here's some information to help you prepare for your appointment.