Treatment FAQ

what treatment for minor heart attack

by Mr. Destin Bauch PhD Published 2 years ago Updated 1 year ago
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You might receive clot-dissolving drugs (thrombolysis), balloon angioplasty (PCI), surgery or a combination of treatments. 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.Mar 31, 2017

Medication

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Procedures

“The emergency crew is trained to treat these symptoms, and it could mean the difference between life and death.” Heart attack or stroke can happen to anyone, but your risk increases with age. A family or personal history of heart attack or stroke also ...

Therapy

You may be having a heart attack if you feel:

  • Pain, pressure, or squeezing in your chest, particularly a little to the left side
  • Pain or pressure in your upper body like your neck, jawline, back, stomach, or in one or both of your arms (especially your left)
  • Shortness of breath
  • Suddenly sweaty or clammy
  • Nausea or vomiting
  • Lightheaded

What to eat to reduce risk of heart attack?

When a heart attack is suspected, taking an aspirin is recommended since many heart attacks are caused by a blood clot. Aspirin is a medication that helps to prevent further blood clotting. Nitroglycerin is another medication that is used in the treatment of heart attacks.

How to spot and treat a heart attack?

How to recognize the signs of a mild heart attack?

Can you treat a mild heart attack yourself?

See more

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What is the treatment for a mild heart attack?

If an ECG shows you have an NSTEMI or unstable angina (the "less serious" types of heart attack), blood-thinning medicine, including aspirin and other medicines, is usually recommended.

Does a minor heart attack go away?

Most heart attacks actually involve only mild pain or discomfort in the center of your chest. You may also feel pressure, squeezing, or fullness. These symptoms usually start slowly, and they may go away and come back.

Is a mini heart attack serious?

Symptoms of a mini heart attack are similar to those of a major heart attack, but less severe. Even a mini heart attack is a medical emergency and you should call 911 if you think you're having one.

What happens after a mini heart attack?

With SMI, you may feel discomfort in the center of the chest and not a sharp pain on the left side of the chest, which many people associate with a heart attack. "People can even feel completely normal during an SMI and afterward, too, which further adds to the chance of missing the warning signs," says Dr. Plutzky.

How to recover from a heart attack?

It will take time to recover from a heart attack, and you may not ever return to your previous level of health. Your doctor will encourage a healthy lifestyle. This would include a heart healthy diet, weight loss, cessation of smoking, increased exercise, and stress management.

Why do you take aspirin for a heart attack?

When a heart attack is suspected, taking an aspirin is recommended since many heart attacks are caused by a blood clot. Aspirin is a medication that helps to prevent further blood clotting.

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 the alternative to bypass surgery?

Minimally invasive heart surgery: An alternative to standard bypass surgery. Radiofrequency ablation: A catheter with an electrode at its tip is guided through the veins to the heart muscle to destroy carefully selected heart muscle cells in a very small area.

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.

Can statins lower cholesterol?

Cholesterol-lowering medications: Various medications can lower blood cholesterol levels, but statins are the best first course of action. When statins prove ineffective, or if a patient experiences serious side effects from statin therapy, other drugs may be recommended.

What to do if you have a mild heart attack?

If you have suffered a mild heart attack, your doctor may recommend some lifestyle and health changes in order to reduce your risk of experiencing a secondary cardiac event. These tips include:

How to prevent heart failure?

Avoid these foods and increase your consumption of foods that are low in cholesterol and saturated fats like fruits, vegetables, white meat, and fish. ...

What is the difference between a mild heart attack and a massive heart attack?

What is the difference between a mild and massive heart attack? Heart attacks occur when there is a blockage in the artery that impedes the flow of blood into the heart. A massive heart attack may happen if blood flow is completely cut off by the blockage and can cause permanent heart damage, cardiac arrest, or death.

How do you know if you have a heart attack?

Signs and symptoms of mild heart attack. The symptoms of a mild heart attack are similar to those of unstable angina and include chest pain that may radiate to the arms and jaw, difficulty breathing, nausea, light-headedness, cold sweats, and feeling as though your heart is racing. These symptoms may last for a few minutes.

Why does my chest hurt after a heart attack?

You may also experience some discomfort in your chest, as damage to the heart impairs blood flow and can result in chest pain. Depression is another side effect of experiencing a mild heart attack, as after such a traumatic event, you may feel a fear of death or mortality as well as a loss of control over your life.

How to lower cholesterol and blood pressure?

Check for diabetes: Be sure to get screened for diabetes, as both type 1 and type 2 diabetes can increase your risk of suffering a heart attack or stroke. Exercise: Exercising regularly—especial ly cardio activities— can help make your heart stronger and lower your cholesterol and blood pressure. Jogging, running, walking, bicycling, ...

What is the best test to check for a mild heart attack?

A blood test may also be able to confirm whether the patient has suffered a mild heart attack, as can an echocardiogram, ultrasound of the heart, angiogram, or x-ray of the coronary arteries. To treat a mild heart attack, doctors may prescribe medications such as nitroglycerin, which widens the blood vessels.

Why is it important to have an accurate diagnosis of a heart attack?

Diagnosis. Accurate diagnosis is essential to ensure correct treatment for the cardiac problem. An electrocardiogram test is first conducted to identify whether the patient has suffered a mild heart attack or a typical heart attack. It is followed by a blood test which detects the presence of specific types of proteins that are released into ...

How to tell if you have angina or angina?

The symptoms are usually triggered by intense physical and emotional exertion. The first signs are very similar to that of stable angina. However, the symptoms of stable angina disappear after ten to fifteen minutes and the symptoms last for more than fifteen minutes. Another difference is that the patient with stable angina gets relief from the chest pain when at rest but the symptoms of unstable angina persist even if the person is at rest.

What is the clinical name for a heart attack?

The clinical name for a heart attack is a myocardial infarction. If one is in your future, of course you want it to be a mild heart attack. Symptoms for any type of heart attack, however, include the following signs:

What are the risk factors for a heart attack?

If you have risk factors for a heart attack, including high LDL cholesterol, high blood pressure, smoking, obesity, diabetes, or a family history of heart disease, and you start to feel heart attack symptoms of any kind, call 911.

What is ST elevation in heart attack?

Heart attack is either complete blockage of a coronary artery, called ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), or partial blockage called non-ST elevation MI (NSTEMI). A person cannot tell the difference by symptoms, and the treatment is different: STEMI is treated with a stent, and NSTEMI treatment starts with anticoagulation ...

What does it feel like to have a heart attack?

One other common heart attack symptom is anxiety, or a vague but undeniable feeling that something’s wrong. Research shows that a heart attack causes victims to feel like they’re having a panic attack. But this is a dangerous assumption.

Can a heart attack be minor?

So can a heart attack be mild or major? The short answer is yes . What determines whether a heart attack is minor or major is the extent of damage to the heart muscle itself. Keep in mind, however, that mild heart attack symptoms can resemble those of a more serious heart attack.

Can a silent heart attack last forever?

Evidence of a silent heart attack may only appear much later when your doctor is exam ining your heart for other reasons. Silent heart attacks usually cause the same symptoms as other heart attacks but they are milder and don’t last as long. Because they may never result in a visit to the ER, they remain silent.

Can a heart attack cause a spasm?

There are some less-common heart attack causes, too. One of your coronary arteries could spasm and shut off blood flow to the heart muscle. Sometimes smoking or illicit drugs can result in coronary artery spasm. A spasm can occur in a coronary artery that isn’t affected by atherosclerosis.

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Diagnosis

Clinical Trials

Lifestyle and Home Remedies

Coping and Support

Medically reviewed by
Dr. Kabir Sethi
Your provider will work with you to develop a care plan that may include one or more of these treatment options.
Treatment depends on the severity. The main goal is to prevent further damage to the heart and to restore blood flow quickly, for which there are several medications and surgical treatments.
Medication

First aid: Oxygen therapy and drugs that reduce blood clotting and help in maintaining blood flow are given.

Aspirin . Nitroglycerine


Thrombolytics: Clot-busting medicines are recommended to dilute the clots formed in the arteries.

Tenecteplase . Alteplase . Urokinase . Reteplase


Supportive medicines: ACE inhibitors used to reduce strain on the heart. Anticoagulants, beta blockers, and statin medicines.

Quinapril . Clopidogrel . Atenolol . Atorvastatin

Procedures

Coronary angioplasty and stenting: Metal mesh stent is inserted into the artery to keep it open and restore blood flow to heart.

Coronary artery bypass graft (CABG): Bypass surgery that allows blood flow to the heart. Usually recommended depending on the location of the blockage and if the stenting is not suitable.

Therapy

Rehabilitation:Cardiac rehabilitation is a medically supervised personalised program which may include exercise, lifestyle chages and diet is usually recommended.

Specialist to consult

Cardiologist
Specializes in the diagnosis and management heart related disorders.

Preparing For Your Appointment

  • Ideally, a health care provider should screen you during regular checkups for risk factors that can lead to a heart attack. A heart attack is often diagnosed in an emergency setting. If you've had or are having a heart attack, care providers will take immediate steps to treat your condition. If you'…
See more on mayoclinic.org

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