General Medical Advices

Archive for the ‘Heart Disease’ Category

According to the National Institutes of Health, approximately 1.5 million Americans suffer from a heart attack (heart attack or heart attack). For almost a third of them, the attack is fatal. Many of these deaths could be prevented – if only the victim had received help in time. It is very important for us all to know the warning signs of a heart attack.
Warning signs of a heart attack

The American Heart Association says that for many people suffering from a heart attack for the first time is when they realize they have heart disease.

The warning signs are having a heart attack vary. Here are some of the most common:
* Uncomfortable chest pain or heavy feeling in the chest that lasts more than a few minutes.
* Pain that runs along the shoulders, neck, jaw or arms.
* Chest pain accompanied by dizziness, sweating, nausea or shortness of breath.

Not all of these symptoms are present in all cases. The American Academy of Family Physicians says the symptoms may come and go, some of the people who have a heart attack may not experience any symptoms.

In addition, the Food and Drug Administration of the United States (FDA) tells us that women are more likely to have the so called silent kills. That’s because women unlike men, have different notices of heart attack. Women tend to have more nausea and pain in the stomach.

Also, you may experience heartburn that can be taken as indigestion. In women, like men, symptoms come and go. Either way, it is extremely important to get medical help if you suspect a heart attack. The American Heart Association (AHA) tells us that drugs and surgery to undo clots are more efficient when used in the early stages of a heart attack. However, studies show that many victims of heart attacks wait several hours – up to ten hours or more – before seeking help.

The goals of heart attack treatment are to return blood flow to your heart muscle, bring back a regular heartbeat, and give your heart time to recover.

The development of “clot busters” called thrombolytic agents (streptokinase, urokinase, tissue plasminogen activator) has increased survival rates for heart attack patients when these medicines are given as soon as possible after an attack. The term thrombolysis means to break up a clot, and that is exactly what these medicines do. In some cases, these medicines can break up a clot within minutes. To work best, they must be given as soon as possible after a heart attack. Read the rest of this entry »

Heart failure: what is it?

Heart failure is a serious health problem that occurs when the heart can no longer pump enough blood to meet the oxygen requirements of the body. Gradually, people who are living out of breath and tire more easily.

It usually occurs in individuals whose health is weakened for several years by cardiac or respiratory disorders, or hypertension.

Heart failure is more frequent than before. This is one consequence of successful treatment against heart disease. There is however no reliable statistics on its prevalence. This is a major cause of mortality among the elderly. Indeed, the survival rate five years after diagnosis is about 50% 1.
Causes

Heart failure occurs when the heart has much more force to expel blood into the arteries, or that it fills less blood because it has stiffened. Each contraction of the heart is therefore less effective. The blood takes longer to pass through the arteries and tends to stagnate in the veins. Because of this congestion of blood in the veins it is called heart failure “congestive”.

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Classification of coronary heart disease in clinical stages and according to ICD

Coronary heart disease, also called ischemic heart disease, are diseases of the heart caused by atherosclerosis (atherosclerosis). This causes oxygen deficiency (ischemia) in the heart muscle. Coronary heart disease are divided into acute (heart attack or myocardial infarction) and chronic (angina pectoris) forms.

The ICD has additional categories, mostly asymptomatic diagnoses. The classifications according to the ICD-9 and ICD-10 are quite diverse. Thus, part of the ICD-10 category of “certain current complications following acute myocardial infarction ‘(code I23) in ICD-9 classified under” no well-defined diseases and complications of heart disease “(code 429), and thus not subject to the coronary heart disease.

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