Sudden Heart Attack
January 1, 2009 by jody
Filed under Diseases & Conditions
When you have a complete physical every year, a problem with your heart may not be evident. There are a number of ways to examine the heart such as stress test, CT scans, angiograms and X-rays looking for blocked arteries.
These test are effective in showing the slow chronic built-up of plaque in your arteries that eventually cause blockage. When someone has a sudden heart attack often it is caused by a tiny piece of plaque. The plaque was so small that it was not detected in any test, but suddenly ruptures in their artery.
One doctor explained the sudden heart attack by saying, "plaque is like a piece of popcorn that has been placed in a microwave that all of a sudden bursts open." When this happens a blood clot will form blocking the flow of blood within seconds.
If doctors cannot reliably predict if you’re likely to have a sudden heart attack, prevention becomes all the more critical. Below you will find a list of some of the most effective measures for prevention.
Keep cholesterol levels low: If you have high cholesterol, you can often lower it with the use of medications called statins, which not only prevent the buildup of plaque in arteries, but "stabilize" the plaque so it’s less likely to rupture.
Do not smoke: Smoking is extremely damaging to blood vessels.
Avoid excess weight: Fat is especially dangerous around the stomach. Dr. Cam Patterson of the University of North Carolina explains: "Abdominal obesity is so bad because we know now that fat cells in the abdomen secrete chemicals that irritate the arteries around the heart, making it more likely that the plaque is going to rupture."
Get regular exercise: For a healthy heart, you should get cardiovascular exercise at least 30 minutes a day, four times a week.
You will find more information on sudden heart attacks on the site listed below.
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=5180113&page=1
