Dr. Gaurav Singhal a cardiologist in Jaipur given answer of Heart Attack FAQ to the people. He is a specialist cardiologist doctor having experience of 11 Years and associated with Mahatma Gandhi hospital. Below are the common Heart attack FAQ:
1. What is a heart attack?
Ans. For survival, our heart needs oxygen. In a heart attack, the blood flow which supplies oxygen to the heart muscles get reduced or completely cut off.
The coronary arteries which supply the blood to the heart become narrow generally because of the fat, cholesterol, and other materials together called plaque. This complete process is known as atherosclerosis.
When this plaque breaks within an artery, a blood clot forms around the plaque, which blocks the blood flow from the artery to the heart.
There is another condition called Ischemia in which the heart muscle starves for oxygen and other nutrients. When the heart muscle damages or die because of the ischemia, it is termed as a heart attack.
2. Will I get any warning signs?
Ans. There are no symptoms of the process of atherosclerosis. What happens is, that when the coronary artery becomes narrow and not able to flow the blood properly, the other nearby arteries compensate the blood supply by expanding itself, therefore no symptoms appear.
This network of expanded blood vessels is called collateral circulation, which helps a lot of people from a heart attack by compensating the blood supply.
3. Does the heart get permanently damaged?
Ans. During a heart attack, the muscles which can’t supply the blood to the heart suffer injuries. The damage amount depends on the area size and time between treatment and injury.
Generally, it takes several weeks for the heart muscles to heal.
Our heart is a very tough organ, although it may have severely injured, the rest of the heart keeps working. However, due to the damage, it gets weaken and can’t pump as much blood like earlier.
4. Can I recover from a heart attack?
Ans. Almost yes.
The heart muscles start healing after a heart attack. Generally, it takes about 8 weeks for complete healing. A scar tissue forms in the damaged area, which can’t blood pump that much as healthy muscle tissue does.
The pumping function which gets lost depends on the size and location of scar tissue. Mainly, the heart attack survivors have some degree of CAD (coronary artery disease) and need to make changes in their lifestyle and take medicines to prevent future heart attacks.
5. Is every chest pain a heart attack?
Ans. No!
The most common type of chest pain is Angina. It is a recurring discomfort that lasts only for a few minutes. It occurs when the heart muscles don’t get oxygen and supply.
The difference between a heart attack and the angina is that in angina the heart muscles don’t get permanently damaged.
6. How a heart attack is different from a cardiac arrest?
Ans. Generally, people consider a heart attack and a cardiac arrest same, however, they are quite different events.
A heart attack is a circulation problem in which the blood flow to the heart gets blocked. However, in a cardiac arrest, the heart stops beating unexpectedly. It is an electrical problem. The cardiac arrests are due to irregular heart rhythms called arrhythmias.
If you want to take an appointment with a cardiologist in Jaipur regarding your Heart Problem then you can Contact Dr. Gaurav Singhal