There would hardly be anyone who has not heard the news of someone’s death due to a heart attack from his family or someone close to him. As shocking as these news are, what is more surprising is that these people did not have any disease before and they were also not very old.
Nowadays many people become victims of heart attack at a young age and many of them even lose their lives. In fact, heart diseases or heart attacks are still the biggest cause of death in the world. Every year about 1.79 crore people die of heart attack.
Often people think that heart attack comes suddenly and there are no signs of it. Therefore the number of deaths due to this continues to increase. But this is not right. Actually, most heart attacks do not come suddenly. Researchers in South Korea and America found that about 99% of the people who had a heart attack or stroke had started showing some signs several years earlier. These signs come as warnings related to the heart. These warning signs could be high blood pressure, high sugar, high cholesterol or smoking habit. According to this research, if we pay attention to these signs in time, then the risk of heart attack can be understood in advance and it can also be prevented.
Which signs do people often ignore?
Heart related diseases progress slowly and silently. Many times their initial signs seem small or unrelated, so people ignore them. But doctors say that these symptoms should never be ignored. Now the question arises that what are these signs? Let us know.
- Constant feeling of tiredness or lack of energy
- shortness of breath even while doing small tasks
- Irregular heartbeat or chest flutters
- Frequent heartburn or inability to digest food properly
- high blood pressure or cholesterol
- leg cramps or pain while walking
- stiffness in the jaw, arms, or chest
- sudden sweating or feeling anxious without any reason
Why doesn’t a heart attack occur suddenly?
Researchers studied more than 9 million South Koreans and thousands of Americans for 20 years and found that almost every person has at least one sign before a heart attack, stroke or serious heart-related problem. This also includes a slight increase in blood pressure, increase in cholesterol or slight increase in blood sugar. Even a slight increase in these can increase the risk of heart disease.
Northwestern University’s expert Dr. Philip Greenland says that if blood pressure, cholesterol or sugar increases even a little, then it should also be taken seriously. The risk can be reduced with the right lifestyle and necessary treatment. Simply put, the best way to prevent fatal heart-related diseases is to recognize the signs in time and take appropriate action.
What are the biggest reasons for heart attack?
Any heart disease is not caused by any one reason. These often occur over time due to a combination of factors. According to doctors, some of the main reasons for this are smoking or coming in contact with smoke, sitting for too long and not exercising, eating too much fried or sweet food, sudden increase or decrease in sugar, high blood pressure and constant stress, anxiety or not getting enough sleep.
Any one of these reasons can start damaging your arteries. When two or more reasons come together, the risk of heart attack increases manifold.
How can you prevent a heart attack before it happens?
This research clearly shows that heart attacks and strokes do not occur suddenly. These are the result of gradual changes, which can be identified and corrected in time. Doctors recommend that everyone keep getting tested regularly, even if you are feeling healthy. Regularly checking your blood pressure, sugar and cholesterol can save your life.
Along with this, eat healthy food, be active, quit smoking and reduce stress. With this you can keep your heart healthy till old age.