The term "cardiac ischemia" is translated from Latin as a lack of blood supply. This means that due to an ailment, blood cannot pass through the coronary arteries in the required quantity due to their strong narrowing or blockage. Because of this, the necessary amount of oxygen does not enter the heart muscle.
If timely treatment is not done, then this body will stop contracting, which can provoke ischemic heart attack and even death of the patient.
What is myocardial infarction
This pathology is one of the many manifestations of coronary heart disease (CHD). That is why many people call myocardial infarction ischemic. IHD belongs to the category of serious diseases and is characterized by necrosis of some parts of the heart muscle. This happens due to circulatory disorders. Accordingly, the heart needs a much larger amount of oxygen than it can receive with ischemia.
In 98% of cases, myocardial infarction is caused by atherosclerosis of the coronary arteries that provide heart nutrition. As a result, blood clots and plaques form, which block the access of necessary substances. Over time, they increase in size, and the lumen of the artery decreases significantly. If there is a separation of the thrombus, then this can provoke a complete closure of the lumen. Thus, coronary heart disease and myocardial infarction are inextricably linked.
It is also worth considering that plaques can form throughout the coronary vessels. In especially severe situations, several arteries are affected immediately. Violation of coronary circulation and the occurrence of ischemic infarction can be triggered by a sharp spasm of the vessels.
There are situations in which a heart attack occurred without the development of atherosclerosis, but they are much less common. It is worth noting that over the past decade, a young population suffers from myocardial infarction. A heart attack is one of the causes of disability in cardiovascular diseases.
Causes of ischemic heart and brain infarction
First of all, it is worth noting that more women are affected by this problem than men. As a rule, the fair sex is faced with coronary heart disease after 50 years. Therefore, it is very important during this period of life to carefully monitor your health and pay attention to any unpleasant symptoms.
If we talk about the causes of coronary artery disease and myocardial infarction, then they include:
- Constant stress. If a person is in a nervous tension, then this can provoke a huge number of a wide variety of diseases, the same applies to coronary heart disease. This is because with excitement, the heart muscle begins to contract strongly. This leads to wear. If a person is under stress all the time, then over time the heart may simply not withstand such a load.
- Excess weight. As a rule, people suffering from overweight are more prone to heart attack. This is due to the fact that due to adipose tissue located in the human body, muscles, including the heart, experience increased stress. In this case, the vital organ has to work with a vengeance. Therefore, you need to control your weight.
- Diabetes. In a patient with this diagnosis, the blood thickens and moves much worse through the vessels. In this case, the heart is simply not able to receive it in the required volume, which can provoke an ischemic heart attack.
- Improper nutrition. Many do not pay attention to this cause of coronary heart disease, but most often it is it that becomes the main factor causing attacks. The fact is that due to malnutrition in the human body, cholesterol levels increase. This leads to the formation of plaques, which quite quickly clog vessels and block the access of blood.
- Sedentary lifestyle. If a person spends most of the time at a computer or lies on a couch, then in this case his body cannot function normally. It is important to maintain all muscle tone, including the heart muscle. Therefore, we must not forget about the necessary physical activity.
- Smoking. Due to this bad habit, the necessary oxygenation of the blood does not occur. Over time, the heart muscle becomes thinner and stops working. This can trigger ischemic cerebral infarction.
Other reasons
There are a number of pathology development factors that are almost impossible to avoid, even if a person adheres to all preventive recommendations:
- Heredity. It is necessary to study the medical history of your family. If a large number of relatives had ischemic heart attacks that occurred after the age of 50, then in this case there is a high probability that this disease will affect younger members of the family in the future. This means that a person needs to monitor his health much more closely and consult specialists in a timely manner.
- Menopause. All women over the age of 50 face this problem. In the body of the representative of the beautiful half of humanity, hormones are ceased to be produced, which are necessary for the lady to be able to have a baby. This leads to increased stress on the heart and can trigger the onset of the first symptoms of ischemic heart attack. In addition, during this period there is a complete restructuring of the body. He is forced to adapt to new conditions.
Forms of the disease
There are several stages of the development of coronary heart disease:
- Asthmatic. This type of ailment is diagnosed in 8% of cases. It manifests itself as a lack of air during inspiration. Patients have severe shortness of breath and cough like asthma. If accumulation of fluid occurs in the alveoli, then this leads to bubbling in the chest. In the most severe cases, pulmonary edema is observed. An urgent need is immediate intubation.
- Gastralgic. In this case, patients have symptoms that are very similar to food poisoning. In this case, signs of acute appendicitis or stomach ulcers may appear. In such a situation, it is much more difficult to determine in a timely manner that necrosis occurs in the tissues of the heart. That is why these symptoms are called false. They lead to incorrect diagnosis of the primary disease.
- Cerebrovascular. In this case, malfunctions of the nervous system occur. If a person has primary signs of a heart attack, then they may be temporary. Other symptoms include dizziness, general weakness, frequent headaches (some experience temporary loss of consciousness), as well as paralysis.
- Arrhythmic. In this case, serious changes occur in the rhythm of the heartbeat, which allows you to timely diagnose the malaise. The most dangerous manifestation is considered atrioventricular block. This leads to a chaotic uncontrolled contraction of the myocardium, low heart rate and ventricular fibrillation.
- Painless. This form of the disease is considered the most dangerous, since it does not manifest itself. It is impossible to predict an attack of ischemic infarction. Due to the lack of symptoms, the diagnosis of pathology becomes impossible. As a rule, in this case, coronary heart disease manifests itself at the last stage. This form of heart attack is most often observed in people suffering from diabetes mellitus or impaired functioning of nerve endings.
Symptoms of myocardial infarction and coronary heart disease in women
First of all, it is very important to pay attention to increase or decrease in pressure. In 87% of cases, seizures are observed in people suffering from heart palpitations (regardless of gender).
If we talk about the symptoms of myocardial infarction and coronary heart disease precisely in the fair sex, then in this case the pathology does not appear very clearly and often resembles flu, a cold, nervous exhaustion or overwork.
Among the main symptoms it is worth highlighting:
- The appearance of discomfort and pain in the chest. It should be noted that in this case the symptoms in women are not as pronounced as in men. Sometimes pain spreads throughout the chest, rather than concentrating in the heart. In this case, ladies often complain of a feeling of constriction, or, conversely, chest fullness.
- Pain in the hands, jaw, neck and back. This symptomatology is also more common in women than in men. Many believe that a heart attack manifests itself only in the form of pain in the chest. However, pain in the hands and jaw can also be a clear signal that it is time to seek help, especially if the pain is acutely manifested at night.
- Stomach pains. If severe discomfort is observed in the stomach, then this can also be a symptom of heart attack and coronary artery disease. These symptoms often affect women. Some women decide that they have simple heartburn, flu, or the first signs of peptic ulcer.
- Frequent dizziness and nausea. If such symptoms appear for no apparent reason, then this may be a clear sign of pathology.
- Increased sweating. In this case, women often manifest a phenomenon called cold sweat. This syndrome is caused by too many stress hormones secreted by the adrenal glands.
Based on the “blurry” symptoms of coronary heart disease and heart attack described above, it becomes obvious that women are indeed much more difficult to identify this pathology, therefore, the fair sex needs to be much more attentive to their health.
Acute attack
If we talk about primary symptoms, then first of all it is worth paying attention to pain in the chest on the left side. At the same time, discomfort can be given to the arm, neck, shoulder blade, neck, and other parts of the body. The pains are paroxysmal and recur after a few hours.
The second clear sign of cerebral infarction and ischemic disease is increased shortness of breath. If it occurs even with the lightest loads, then this is a serious reason to seek medical help.
Another symptom of an acute attack is also worth noting. It is worth asking for help with:
- low blood pressure;
- cold sweat and a sharp drop in body temperature;
- numbness of the upper limbs;
- severe dizziness and sudden bouts of nausea;
- impaired coordination of movements and speech;
- manifestations of panic fear.
Treatment
It is worth noting that coronary heart disease develops gradually, therefore, it is necessary to diagnose it as quickly as possible, then therapy will give visible results. As a rule, specialists prescribe several categories of drugs to patients.
First of all, funds are needed that will help expand the vessels. These include Nitroglycerin. It is also necessary to take measures to prevent the formation of blood clots. In this case, it is best to start taking Aspirin. Drugs are needed to help fight cholesterol. However, you need to understand that all these medications are not able to save a person from such an ailment, they are able to temporarily relieve unpleasant symptoms. To restore heart function, surgical intervention is required.
Coronary artery bypass grafting
If a person had a myocardial infarction and ischemic disease, then surgery may be the only solution to the problem. In this case, a new vessel is implanted. It is a shunt through which blood will flow with the required amount of oxygen.
Most often, the saphenous vein of the lower limb is used to place it, however, if the patient suffers from varicose veins, then this operation is impossible. As a rule, after such procedures, patients note the disappearance of angina attacks. Due to this, they can refuse most of the drugs that they took.
Angioplasty
In this case, the area of the too narrow artery is expanded surgically. Due to this, blood flow is restored. As a rule, the patient’s femoral artery is used to perform this procedure, into which a special balloon catheter is inserted, having the form of a flexible tube, which is carried out into the coronary arteries. As soon as the tube reaches the site in which vasoconstriction is observed, the balloon put on the catheter begins to inflate and expand the necessary zone.
This surgical intervention is much easier for patients to tolerate, but the operation cannot be performed by those who suffer from diabetes.
Complications
With improper or untimely treatment, a person may suffer from post-infarction cardiosclerosis. This pathology is also considered one of the varieties of ischemic heart disease.
With repeated attacks, chronic heart failure can develop. In this case, it will be more difficult for a person to perform physical activity, shortness of breath will appear. Some develop acute heart failure. A similar complication can occur even with minor stages of coronary heart disease.
Some patients suffer from cardiogenic shock, which is characterized by a sharp decrease in myocardial contractions.
Preventative measures
To get rid of coronary heart disease, it is very important to lead a healthy lifestyle, so you must definitely give up smoking and alcohol consumption. You will have to adhere to a diet that includes the intake of low-fat foods, fruits, vegetables and other healthy foods.
Those who have suffered myocardial infarction need to engage in physical therapy, in case of excess weight, take measures to reduce it. It is important to maintain normal blood pressure and avoid stress.