Don’t Skip a beat: Prepare for a heart attack

Prepare for a heart attack which could save your life now rather than later.

A crisis will come without giving a warning, the same can be said about a heart attack, you could be anywhere, at a supermarket, at home, work or anywhere when your heart stops beating. And you can take steps to prevent in case one should ever happen to you or your loved ones.

Approximately, once in a minute, there is a heart attack happening in the country, this generally happens when there is lack of oxygen to the heart or a certain part of the heart. This generally happens due to the buildup of waxy substance like plaque which can clog the arteries and make it difficult for blood to flow to that part of the heart.

Now matter how healthy your heart is, you can take steps to prepare for the possibility of a heart attack.

1. Know the risks. Be aware of the risks of heart attack. Certain behavior and conditions can increase the possibility of a heart attack, including smoking, being overweight, having high blood pressure, and eating an unhealthy diet. Talk to your physician to find out how you could reduce the possibility of a heart attack.
2. Have a heart-to-heart. Engage your loved ones including your family members, friends to have a conversation about heart attack risk, and discuss together what you can do to prevent heart attacks from happening. You can consider helping heart patients further by taking them to their errands, reminding them to take their pills, or driving them to their medical visits. This is also an excellent time to document your own family health history.
3. Recognize the signs. Heart attacks affect women more than men. With women it is seen that they may have chest pain similar to men, but at a lower intensity and it will come along with nausea, vomiting or shortness of breath, and pain in the back, neck or jaw. About 1 out of 5 heart attacks are called silent heart attacks, which means you’re having a heart attack but don’t know it.