Heart Attack Treatment

Heart attack, medically referred to as myocardial infarction (MI), is a serious heart disease and a complication that requires immediate medical attention. The causes of heart attack are directly related to the narrowing or blockage of the coronary arteries that deliver blood to the cardiac muscles. As per medical data, it is the leading cause of death in the United States. On the brighter side, there are several heart attack treatment alternatives, which when followed quickly help in restoring the blood supply and reducing disability.

Treating Heart Attack

For the human heart to function properly, sufficient supply of oxygen-rich blood is crucial at all times. Any abnormality in the blood circulation negatively affects normal blood and oxygen distribution to the heart. If not restored quickly, blockage of blood supply causes damage and at times, death of the cardiac cells and muscles. Heart attack symptoms include chest pain (that radiates to the left arm), palpitation, breathing difficulty, nausea, vomiting and weakness. These symptoms in women are less obvious than that of men.

In any case of suspected heart attack signs, it is imperative to remain calm and call for immediate medical help. This is because heart attack treatment is found to be most effective when followed within one hour of the manifestation of first symptoms. After reaching the hospital, the emergency cardiac specialist will examine the patient and perform quick tests (blood test, chest X-ray, electrocardiogram) to confirm myocardial infarction or else. Based on the results, the doctor will recommend appropriate treatment.

Emergency Treatment
If at all, there is no time for assessing the patient or the patient has no pulse, cardiopulmonary resuscitation steps and mouth-to-mouth resuscitation (called artificial breathing) are indicated to rescue breathing. For patients with cardiac arrest or abnormal heart rhythm, a defibrillator is used to give electrical shock to the heart. This shock treatment is effectual for resuming the normal heartbeats. Artificial oxygen is also given to ensure adequate supply of oxygen to the body parts.

Administration of Medication
A fast-aid tip that every patient can proceed at the first warning signs is ingesting an aspirin tablet. This ant-inflammatory drug reduces blood clotting and further damage to the heart cells. Other medications used by doctors for treating heart attack are thrombolytics (to dissolve blood clot), beta-blockers and pain relievers. For mild heart attack treatment, the doctor usually prescribes aspirin and nitroglycerin (a vasodilator to be placed under the tongue). Also, cholesterol lowering medicines are prescribed to reduce bad cholesterol levels in the blood.

Surgical Treatment
If the diagnostic examination reveals that there is an acute heart attack, the immediate steps are coronary angiogram to locate blockage and then, coronary angioplasty to open the blocked coronary artery. The latter helps in restoring normal blood flow to the heart cells, which is again crucial for limiting damage to the cardiac muscles. Another surgical procedure performed is coronary artery bypass surgery. This involves bypassing the blocked arterial sites and sewing healthy blood vessels to ensure normal blood circulation.

According to statistics about heart attack, more than 1 million people report of this medical complication every year, out of which half of them survive. The number of survivors would be higher, if emergency heart attack treatment is provided to the patients. Acting fast is the key rule to receive effective treatment. In order to prevent the incidences of severe or mild heart attack, one should seek medical advice even for a mild chest pain. It is always better to be on the safer side, rather than risking any of the heart diseases.