हिंदी
The human heartbeat is the first and last sign of life. Heart circulates blood through the aorta, the body’s principal artery, which gives rise to three coronary arteries that feed the heart muscle with nutrients and oxygen.
Heart attacks are brought on by blood clots or cholesterol-related blockages in these coronary arteries. Due to risk factors like age, family history, diabetes mellitus, smoking (tobacco in any form), high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, lack of exercise, unhealthy eating habits, stress, excessive alcohol use, etc., cholesterol deposition occurs over decades. This means that we have decades to control these risk factors in order to avoid blockages.
The degree of the coronary artery block’s criticality, the area of the heart muscle it supplies, the presence or absence of collaterals, etc., all affect the severity or prognosis of a heart attack. If the big artery becomes blocked, this may result in a reduction in the heart’s ability to pump blood, water retention in the lungs, low blood pressure, wildly fluctuating heart rate, sudden cardiac arrest, or even death. If the small artery is blocked, the patient may only have minor symptoms or none at all, which can be found out during routine testing.
In India as well as the rest of the world, heart attacks are the leading cause of death.
The following lifestyle changes should be made very early in life as the first step in prevention to prevent cholesterol depositions:
• Maintaining a balanced diet by staying away from high-calorie, processed, junk, and fast food.
• Giving up sedentary behavior (Regular exercise at least 30 minutes per day).
• Reducing stress (adequate rest, sound sleep, positive attitude towards life).
• Quit smoking, use medication to manage diabetes, hypertension, and high blood cholesterol.
• Regular physicals that include ECGs, echocardiograms, treadmill tests, and CT coronary angiograms to spot early-stage blockages.
