A healthy heart is a tonality to your happy life. When your heart is trapped by a fatty deposit of atheroma, you are attacked by heart disease. Excess of alcohol, obesity, smoking, drinking, and junk food are some of the lifestyle factors that contribute to the occurrence of cardiac disorders. Other risk factors include high blood pressure, cholesterol level, diabetes, and kidney diseases. But these are treatable or partially treatable. Let’s know the symptoms of heart diseases and how we can prevent these
Symptoms of cardiac disorders
Heart attack: Chest pain or discomfort in upper body parts such as pain in arms, back, jaws or upper part of the stomach are the major symptoms of heart attack. Women are likely to feel dizzy, instead of cold sweat as in the case of men.
Heart failure: In the case of heart failure, physical exertion leads to exhaustion and shortness of breath. Some other symptoms include swelling in the lower body part and veins of the neck.
Arrhythmia: It disturbs the heartbeat rhythm. Here, in case the heart beats too fast, a person can feel skipped beats. Whereas in case the heart beats too slowly, there can be sudden cardiac arrest where the heart stops beating and leads to sudden death.
Prevention of cardiac diseases
For the uncontrolled factors such as family history, gender, and age, you can only rely on medicines. But for the treatable or partially treatable risk factors, below are prevention tips to follow
- Say no to sedentary life with regular 30 minutes of exercise and maintain your body mass index (BMI). The daily workout will help you reduce weight, maintain your blood pressure and control cholesterol and diabetes.
- Eat a heart-healthy diet. Stick to low-fat products, vegetables, fruits, and whole grains. And a big No to excess sugar and salt. This will keep regularize your digestive system, control your diabetes and help your heart function properly
- Deadly chemicals in tobacco directly attack your heart vessels making it tough to pump blood. And the smoke replaces the oxygen in your blood with carbon monoxide leading to high blood pressure
- Get a regular body check-up for screening your blood pressure, cholesterol, and diabetes, especially when you are approaching your 40s.
In addition to the above points, it is necessary to have a quality sleep of 7-8 hours and manage your stress. And, not to forget, never ignore any discomfort or medications prescribed by your doctor. Stay aware, stay healthy.
Congestive heart failure, heart attack or myocardial infarction from heart disease is the inability of your heart to supply oxygenated blood to your body tissues, causing poor circulation in your tissue. Symptoms of heart failure may include a reduced capacity for exercise, shortness of breath and difficulty breathing, and in the most severe cases, a buildup of fluid in your extremities and lungs that can make breathing difficult even when you’re resting.
Cardiac disorders, or cardiomyopathy, is a primary disruption of your heart muscle’s normal rhythm of 60 to 100 beats per minute.
Typical symptoms of cardiomyopathy may include:
- Skipped heartbeats
- Thumping or fluttering in your chest
- A racing heart or fast heartbeats
- Heartbeats that feel harder than usual
You may feel any of these symptoms in your chest, your neck or your throat. They can occur whether you’re active or if you’re resting as well as if you’re reclining, sitting or standing.
When You Should Seek Treatment
Palpitations may indicate a more serious heart condition, including atrial fibrillation, which may require evaluation and treatment. If you have a history of heart disease or if you have frequent heart palpitations, you should call Dr. Jordan, who may suggest heart monitoring to diagnose a more serious problem.
However, you should call 9-1-1 for palpitations that are accompanied by:
- Feeling faint or feeling light-headed
- Severe shortness of breath
- Chest pain or discomfort
- Severe dizziness
- Leg swelling
If you have any of these cardiomyopathy symptoms or if you want to know more about the latest treatments for cardiac arrhythmias or atrial fibrillation options, schedule an appointment as soon as possible
Having knowledge about heart conditions is good but learning how to tackle them is essential. If you are someone who already has an ACLS certification you know that it is time-bound. Today you can easily claim your ACLS recertification online with United Medical Education without any trouble and get it done in the comfort of your home.
What Causes Congestive Heart Failure?
Heart failure is typically caused by a weakened heart muscle and its failure to pump enough blood throughout your body – a systolic dysfunction. It also fails to fill the chambers of your heart with blood, which can lead to very high pressure, a stiff heart muscle and backing up of blood into your lungs – diastolic dysfunction.
The most common factors contributing to heart failure include:
- Diabetes
- Excessive alcohol intake
- Heart attack
- High blood pressure (hypertension)
- Infections
- Inherited conditions of your heart muscle
- Longstanding coronary artery disease
Treatments to Prevent Heart Failure
As a trusted cardiologist to two generations of Los Angelinos, Dr. Jay L. Jordan can recommend a variety of treatments to prevent heart failure after you undergo stress testing. These often include:
- A variety of prescription medications such as beta-blockers, ACE inhibitors or angiotensin receptor blockers, aldosterone blockers or nitrates to relax your body’s arteries
- Indirect medical treatments to prevent heart failures, such as cholesterol-lowering therapies and blood thinners to prevent blood clots
- Angioplasty or a cardiac bypass to open up your blood circulation
- A more balanced diet with more fruits and vegetables and less red meat
- Cardiovascular exercises to strengthen your body and your heart
If you have survived heart failure, Dr. Jordan can also discuss a variety of devices that he can implant into your heart. These can include:
- A defibrillator to prevent your heart from stopping
- A pacemaker to enable a more efficient and steady heartbeat
- An implantable heart pump if he determines that you are a heart transplant candidate
For more information about congestive heart failure and heart attack, Contact Dr. Jay L. Jordan’s office today and to learn more about this procedure or to go ahead and schedule your surgery.
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