Diagnosis, Treatment, and Prevention
Medical professionals need a variety of information to properly diagnose and treat a heart attack.Diagnosis
Heart attack is diagnosed on the basis of the individual's medical history, the physical examination, and test results. The electrocardiograph (an instrument that records the electrical impulses generated in the heart) will show disturbed patterns of heart activity, because the impulses must travel around the damaged area. Measurements of certain enzymes in the blood may signal that heart muscle has been damaged.
Treatment
There is no home treatment for a heart attack other than emergency resuscitative measures -- cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). If the patient loses consciousness and pulse and respiration are absent, CPR should be begun immediately and continued until the individual begins to breathe independently. Conscious patients who may be having a heart attack should take an aspirin immediately.
Many deaths could be prevented if heart attack victims or their families, acting on their behalf, did not delay seeking medical attention. Studies have shown that, on the average, heart attack victims wait three hours before seeing a doctor.
In almost every case, hospitalization will be necessary following a heart attack. Treatment in the hospital will probably begin in the cardiac care unit, with limited physical activity at first and a gradual return to normal activities.
A variety of medications are used to treat heart attack patients: antiarrhythmics, which inhibit irregularities in the heartbeat; diuretics, which reduce strain on the heart by removing excess water from the blood; antianginals, which diminish chest pain; and sedatives, which relax the body. Beta-blockers are used to ease the strain on the heart by decreasing its work; they have been shown to decrease mortality in patients who have had a heart attack. Another category of drugs, calcium channel blockers, also appears to be effective in reducing injury to the heart muscle.
Interventional therapy during the first few hours after a heart attack has become common. Usually, an angiogram (also called cardiac catheterization) is performed first. In this procedure, a thin catheter is inserted into an artery in the arm or leg and advanced through the large blood vessels to the heart; a special dye is then injected through the catheter into the coronary arteries, outlining them on an X-ray screen.
Once the area of obstruction has been located, it may be possible to inject drugs to dissolve an obstruction. In other cases, percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (also called balloon angioplasty) may be performed. In this procedure, a long tube with a balloon tip is threaded through the arteries to the site of the obstruction, and the balloon is inflated to open a clogged vessel (the balloon is then deflated and removed). In rare cases, immediate coronary bypass surgery may be recommended.
Prevention
Prevention of heart attack begins with sensible health and dietary habits. Those who do not smoke and do not overeat or overindulge in saturated fats, but who exercise regularly and eliminate as much stress as possible from their lives, are much less likely to become heart-attack victims. Those who have already suffered one or more heart attacks may be able to prevent further attacks by changing their living habits along these lines.
Now that you know the symptoms, causes, and treatment for heart attacks, you will be better prepared when consulting with a medical professional for further information.
