Practicing healthy lifestyle habits that help reduce the risk of suffering from diseases such as obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, triglycerides, and cholesterol play a fundamental role in the prevention of heart disease.
“We are talking about a heart having a heart attack when a part of it, which is a muscle, dies because it stops receiving blood, oxygen and nutrients and in most cases this happens because there is an excessive accumulation of fatty plaques, calcium and especially cholesterol in the arteries, a condition known as arteriosclerosis, which prevents the passage of these”, explained Paula González, a doctor specializing in cardiology at the Metropolitan Hospital. In fact, atherosclerosis is today the most common cause of cardiovascular disease, therefore, the one responsible for the occurrence of acute myocardial infarctions, angina pectoris, and sudden death, episodes commonly associated with adults, although today They are also common in young people.
It is even estimated that more than 90% of heart attack cases could be prevented by maintaining a balanced diet, exercising regularly, as well as avoiding excessive consumption of alcohol and tobacco, and controlling stress, as explained by González. “By making these lifestyle changes, we not only reduce the risk of heart disease, but also improve our overall quality of life. It is important to remember that prevention is the best strategy to take care of our health and avoid serious illnesses”, added the specialist.
Preventive measures
In this sense, it is important that people learn to take care of themselves, but also to have regular medical check-ups, or primary care, that allow a doctor to determine the propensity to develop diseases or already in case they are and do not present symptoms, learn to control them and thus avoid deterioration or aging of the heart and increase the risk of suffering a heart attack, which even cause death. “Sometimes there is much talk about genetic loads as a factor for developing cardiovascular disease, and it is that although there are people who have this hereditary factor, especially when they have a heart attack at an early age, what most people inherit are styles of life, that is, behaviors such as a sedentary lifestyle, consumption of junk food, or with a lot of salt, processed foods, for example, and this is what is causing heart attacks in young people”, González highlighted.
Regarding the symptoms that can be associated with a heart attack, it is important to emphasize that these vary because, in some people the manifestations are mild, in others they are more serious and some are asymptomatic. Given this scenario, pain in the chest that can feel like pressure, oppression should be a reason for immediate medical consultation; also pain or discomfort that spreads to the shoulder, arm, back, neck, jaw, or teeth, or sometimes to the upper abdomen, even heartburn or indigestion, sudden dizziness and cold sweat
“A heart attack must be intervened quickly to try, at least, to restore that blood flow, and see if it is possible to save that area that is at risk, that is, it is dying because blood is not reaching it. So the faster that artery can be opened, the sequelae that the patient will have will be less”, emphasized the cardiologist from the Metropolitan Hospital, who concluded by indicating that when this event is not treated in that part of the muscle, a scar and there is no way to save it, let alone recover its function.
