Heart attack is one of the common causes.sudden mortality. No one is immune from it. Especially those people who stepped over a certain age line. But, unfortunately, more and more often heart attacks are observed at a fairly young age. In this case, the symptoms of a heart attack in women are somewhat different from the signs of pathology in men. They are more blurred and not pronounced. And this leads to the fact that the death rate in women from heart attacks is steadily increasing.
How to correctly recognize the first signs, symptoms of a heart attack? And what to do in this situation? How to help yourself or a loved one?
What is a heart attack
Pathology often leads to death.But doctors say if first aid is provided in a timely manner, and a team of doctors is called, then the patient can be saved. Most often, a fatal outcome is likely if urgent treatment measures could not be taken. In this case, death occurs as a result of extensive heart damage and complications.
What happens in the body when thispathology? Symptoms of a heart attack in women appear in the event that one of the arteries that feed the myocardium ceases to fully function. It does not fully deliver blood to the main organ. This results in damage to a portion of the heart muscle. Tissues begin to die off. The patient is in dire need of qualified help. Otherwise - a lethal outcome.
What can be a heart attack?Symptoms in women occur on the background of blood flow disorders. Pathology can manifest as a result of sudden spasm. Often the attack is triggered by an unexpected blockage of the vessel with cholesterol or a blood clot. Regardless of the factor that caused the pathology, there is one reason for the death of heart tissue - the lack of oxygen.
Factors leading to heart attack
A lot of reasons can trigger a heart attack. Symptoms in women in most cases are similar regardless of the source of pathology.
The main precipitating factors include:
- age (after 55 years a woman enters a risk zone);
- hereditary factor;
- previous surgery to remove the ovaries;
- period after menopause.
Additional sources of pathology
However, there are other causes of heart attack, which can be eliminated or negate their negative effects on the body.
These factors are:
- Smoking, addiction to alcohol, drug addiction.These factors are on the 1st place. Smokers are almost always diagnosed with heart disease. Intoxication with alcohol worsens the situation several times. Often an acute attack occurs in a state of deep hangover.
- Taking birth control pills. Sometimes this factor leads to the appearance of pathology in women who have not even reached 40 years of age.
- High cholesterol.Vessels clogged with plaques are severely overloaded. Of course, the heart does not receive enough blood. He has to operate in enhanced mode.
- Obesity. Organs, swollen in fat, do not leave the possibility of myocardium to work at full strength. This is a fairly common cause, leading to cardiac abnormalities.
- Mobility As a rule, this factor is combined with obesity or overweight.
- Hypertension. High pressure overloads the heart muscle and blood vessels.
- Diabetes. This is a pathology that provokes many different disorders in the body. Suffering from the disease and the cardiovascular system.
- Inflammatory processes in the vessels.They provoke a rupture of the coronary artery. Inflammation causes an increase in the body's reactive protein. This picture is observed most often in women. And what caused the increase in protein, doctors are not yet ready to say.
- Hypothyroidism. The disease often becomes a source of heart disease. He can provoke an attack.
- Chronic stress. This condition is the cause of the development of most diseases in the body. First and foremost, stress adversely affects the work of the heart.
Classic features
Let's look at what symptoms for heart attack occur most often?
Pathology is characterized by the following main features:
- There is pain in the chest.This is the most characteristic symptom of an impending heart attack. But pain is not always the case. Some people feel discomfort, tightness, a certain pressure in the chest. In this case, the pain is completely absent. Patients claim that it becomes difficult for them to breathe, a feeling appears that “someone stepped on the chest”. Very often, people believe that a heart attack causes pain only in the sternum and unpleasant discomfort in the left hand. You should know that negative sensations can appear in any other parts of the body: in the shoulders, in the throat, in the upper part of the peritoneum, in the jaws, in the teeth, in the back.
- Severe sweating, perspiration.Notice when such a symptom appears. Of particular anxiety causes increased sweating in a person who is in a cool room, and not in the heat. Pointing to problems can be caused by perspiration in the absence of physical exertion. Heavy sweating causes clogged arteries. The heart needs to put more effort into pumping enough blood. To maintain a normal temperature with an additional load, the body releases a large amount of sweat. If you encounter such a problem, be sure to consult with your doctor.
- Dyspnea.If such attacks occur after a small load (climbing a couple of floors, walking), you should consult a doctor. Very often, shortness of breath is a symptom of heart disease. Especially if it is accompanied by severe fatigue and chest pain. Women are more likely to experience similar symptoms. It is the shortness of breath and fatigue that usually warn of an upcoming heart attack.
Additional symptoms
With a classic attack, often occur:
- Problems with the digestive tract.Very often, before an attack, disorders appear in the digestive tract. You may experience an upset stomach, heartburn, nausea. These symptoms are often combined with dizziness. However, do not forget that such symptoms may be inherent in a number of pathologies.
- Numbness of fingers. Can cover only brushes. But sometimes numbness spreads to the shoulders and forearms.
- Disturbed speech. A completely sober person begins to stumble the tongue. Speech becomes slurred and incomprehensible.
- Violation of motor coordination.The person loses control of the body. Most often it concerns the neck, shoulders, arms. This condition is very similar to intoxication. Especially if it is combined with slurred speech. That is why people around are not always in a hurry to help a person who is in this state. This is very dangerous, because precious minutes are being lost.
If timely pay attention to the above main symptoms of a heart attack, you can manage to save a person’s life. Therefore, do not pass by the person who needs your help.
Features of attacks in women
Most often, people present a heart attack assudden, pronounced seizure. If the pathology concerns representatives of the beautiful half of humanity, then the situation is somewhat different. Symptoms of a heart attack in women are rarely pronounced. Most patients tolerate them without giving them any importance.
This is dictated by the fact that signs of illness inmost cases are blurred. Therefore, women do not notice them and do not take them seriously. In addition, the symptoms are somewhat different from the signs that characterize the attack in men.
Alarm signals
Pay attention to the first symptoms of a heart attack in women:
- Great fatigue, almost knocking out of the rut.
- Disturbed sleep, insomnia. This condition can be observed even after severe fatigue. These symptoms appear about a month before the attack.
- Increased anxiety, agitation, feeling of stress.
- Impaired digestion, nausea during normal diet.
- Weak, sticky, sweaty skin.
- Difficult breathing under normal load or climbing stairs.
- The appearance of pain in the neck, face, jaw, ears. Discomfort can spread to the arms, shoulders. It resembles the state of stretching of muscle tissue.
How to help yourself?
If you see the above signs of a heart attack in women, do not expect a worsening of the condition. The most correct decision is to consult a doctor and get qualified help.
Remember that a doctor needs to report any symptoms that appear. In addition, it is important to identify factors that can aggravate the condition (genetic predisposition, smoking, hypertension).
If you have a seizure
What if I caught a heart attack by surprise? Symptoms, first aid - these are moments that everyone should be well aware of. After all, the bill goes on for minutes.
First aid consists of the following activities:
- Immediately call the ambulance. Even if you do not know how to help yourself, the dispatcher will explain to you what to do before the arrival of the doctors.
- Contact your family, who are able to come to you immediately if the attack started at the moment when you are alone.
- Take an aspirin pill (325 mg). The pill should be chewed so that it has a quick effect.
- Примите таблетку нитроглицерина.If a positive effect is not observed, you can use the medicine again. The third pill is allowed to drink only if the pain does not subside within 10 minutes after consuming the second pill.
- Try to keep calm. Panic and fear, characteristic of an attack, complicate the condition. Remember that help is in a hurry to you. You can focus on counting the heartbeat. It is soothing.
- Stay in the supine position, on your back.In this case, it is desirable to raise the legs higher, placing a pillow or another object under them. This will allow the diaphragm to open, and oxygen will be better to enter the blood.
- Take deep breaths and even exhalations.
- If possible, it is recommended to open the window to provide fresh air.
What not to do
If there are symptoms of a heart attack in women, it is not enough to know how to act in such a situation. It should be remembered that categorically contraindicated:
- get up or move around;
- to smoke
- get behind the wheel;
- use aspirin, if there is intolerance to the drug or diagnosed aggravation of gastritis, ulcers;
- take nitroglycerin in case of low pressure, headache, sharp pain, speech, coordination, and vision disorders;
- drink or eat.
Help to a close
What to do if something is wrong with your eyes, and you suspect a heart attack?
Симптомы у женщин, лечение зачастую perceived by such persons frivolously. Therefore, be prepared for the fact that they will refuse to call a doctor and protest against the need to take a horizontal position.
Your actions should be as quick and clear as possible:
- Call an ambulance.
- Lay the patient on a horizontal surface, placing any object under your feet. Ensure that the patient does not rise.
- Open the collar, belt.
- Provide fresh air by opening a window. Turn on the fan.
- Try to calm and encourage the victim.
Be sure to do all the activities described above. And remember that the future life of this person depends on your actions.