You can reduce your risk of a Heart Attack or Stroke
What are the risk factors for heart attack and stroke?
- Age: Heart attack 45+ Men and 55+ Women; Stroke 55+ Men and Women
- Prior heart attack or stroke
- Smoking
- High blood pressure
- Family history of heart attacks or strokes
- High blood cholesterol or triglyceride levels
- Obesity
- Diabetes
- Stress
There is no magic pill that can prevent you from having a heart attack or stroke.
- Don’t smoke. If you are a smoker, seek help to stop.
- Find out if you have diabetes. If you are a diabetic, work closely with your physician to get it under control.
- Follow a heart healthy diet to maintain healthy weight.
- Find out if you have high blood pressure. If you do, take action to get your blood pressure within normal range.
- Know your blood cholesterol numbers. If they are high, take action to reduce them to acceptable levels.
- Follow a daily routine of moderate exercise.
- Taking your prescribed cardiovascular medications can reduce the risk of a heart attack or stroke.
Don't delay care:
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Don't delay care: Lifesaving information about heart disease and heart attacks
Dr. George Ruiz, Chief of Cardiology at MedStar Union Memorial Hospital, MedStar Good Samaritan Hospital and MedStar Harbor Hospital and Dr. John Wang, Chief of the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory at MedStar Union Memorial Hospital talk about the importance of not delaying care for cardiovascular issues. They discuss the signs and symptoms of a heart attack and the importance of seeking immediate care for a heart attack. They also cover the important ways to reduce your heart attack risk. MedStar Health hospitals and clinics are open and safe and our physicians are ready to see you. -
Don't delay care lifesaving information about stroke
Dr. Amie Hsia, vascular neurologist with MedStar Health talks about the importance of not delaying care for if you think you may be having a stroke. Stroke is an emergency. She discusses the warning signs of stroke—including the FAST acronym: F –Facial drooping, A—Arm weakness, S—Speech difficulty, T—Time to call 911. Time is critical for treatment options and you must be treated and evaluated in an emergency department. She also discusses the important ways to reduce the risk of stroke.
Learn more about Heart Attacks and Strokes
Denial of the warning signs of cardiovascular emergencies are all too common. “It’s just indigestion or “the pain will go away” may be correct. But maybe the time wasted before calling 911 can result in further damage to the heart or brain.
Heart attacks and strokes are time-sensitive medical events where minutes count in saving lives. It is very important to be aware of the signs and symptoms of these medical emergencies, know how to respond during a crisis, and to act quickly to avoid tragic outcomes. If someone displays the signs or symptoms of these cardiovascular emergencies, DON’T WAIT … CALL 911, so trained medical professionals can arrive on the scene as soon as possible. If a person loses consciousness and you know CPR, start it immediately.
What is a Heart Attack?
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Overview and causes
A heart attack occurs when the coronary arteries providing blood to the heart become blocked. This blockage is caused by cholesterol or other substances that build up over time. When a buildup in the artery suddenly ruptures, a small clot forms and blocks blood flow in the heart artery to the heart muscle. That is a “heart attack.” Heart attacks can be fatal. If someone displays the symptoms of a heart attack, it is very important to call 911 to get emergency medical help on the scene as soon as possible. -
Symptoms
Common heart attack signs and symptoms include:
- Pressure, tightness, pain, or s squeezing or aching sensation in your chest of arms
- Chest pressure may spread to your neck, jaw, or back
- Shortness of breath
- Fatigue
- Lightheadedness
- Nausea, indigestion, heartburn or abdominal pain
- Cold sweat
Men and women may experience heart symptoms in different ways. As with men, women’s most common heart attack symptom is chest pain or discomfort, but they may not experience crushing chest pain. Women are somewhat more likely than men to experience some of the other common symptoms, particularly shortness of breath, nausea/vomiting and back or jaw pain.
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Treatments
Time is of the essence when treating a heart attack. With each passing minute, more heart tissue dies. Restoring blood flow quickly helps prevent further damage.
Medical Management
Medications can be administered the hospital to treat heart attacks include:
- Antiplatelet agents prevent new clots and keep existing clots from getting larger.
- Blood-thinning medication make it less likely for to new clots to form.
- Pain relievers.
- Nitrogylcerin is used to widen the blood vessels to increase the blood flow to the heart.
- Beta blockers are used to relax the heart muscle.
- ACE inhibitors to lower blood pressure and reduce the stress on the heart.
Surgical procedures
- Coronary angioplasty and stenting: Interventional cardiologists open the artery(s) with balloon angioplasty and insert a metal mesh stent to keep vessels open and restore blood flow to the heart.
- Coronary artery bypass graft (CABG): Cardiac surgeons insert a new artery or vein graft that bypasses the blockage and allows normal blood flow to the heart.
What is a Stroke?
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Overview and causes
A stroke occurs when the blood supply to part of your brain is interrupted or reduced, preventing the brain tissue form getting oxygen and nutrients. Brain cells begin to die in minutes. A stroke is a medical emergency and can be fatal. If someone displays the symptoms of a stroke, it is very important to call 911 to get emergency medical help on the scene as soon as possible.
There are two main types of strokes. An ischemic stroke is where there is a blocked blood vessel in the brain. A hemorrhagic stroke occurs with there is leaking or bursting of a blood vessel in the brain. A temporary disruption of blood flow in the brain called a transient ischemic attack (TIA) does not cause lasting symptoms or damage.
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Symptoms
Signs and symptoms of a stroke include trouble speaking and understanding what others are saying, paralysis or numbness of the face, arm or leg, blurred or blackened vision in one or both eyes, sudden severe headache, nausea, dizziness, and trouble walking. F.A.S.T. is a helpful tool to identify a stroke and the action to take:
- F Ask the person to smile. Does one side of the face droop?
- A Ask the person to raise both arms. Does one arm drift downward? Or is one unable to rise?
- S Ask the person to repeat a simple phrase. Is his or her speech slurred or strange?
- T If you observe these things, call 911 to seek help immediately.
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Treatments
Ischemic stroke (Blockage)
Emergency IV Medication - An IV injection of tPA (Activase) is the gold standard treatment for ischemic stroke. tPA is usually given within the first three hours of onset of symptoms to be effective. The sooner tPA is given the better.
Emergency endovascular procedures – Doctors sometimes insert a catheter in the groin and thread it directly to the brain to deliver tPA where the blockage is occurring. They can also use a device attached to the catheter to remove the clot from the blood vessel.
Hemorrhagic stroke (Brain bleed)
Emergency treatment of hemorrhagic stroke focuses on controlling the bleeding and reducing pressure on the brain caused by excess fluid. Treatment options include: Surgery to remove the blood and relieve pressure on the brain and repair of blood vessels, placement of a clamp at the base on the aneurysm to stop the blood flow, coiling (endovascular embolization) where tiny detachable coils are placed in the aneurysm to fill it, and other interventional options.
Each year about 655,000 Americans die from heart disease – that’s one in every four deaths. Understanding your Heart Age is a way to assess your risk factors for heart attack and stroke. Some things put you at risk for a heart attack or stroke that you cannot change, such as getting older or your family history, but there are ways to lower your risk.
MedStar Health Hospitals are safe and ready to treat cardiovascular conditions
Fears of contracting COVID-19 are now causing even greater delays and some patients are even choosing not to come to the hospital at all. MedStar Health Hospitals have taken extraordinary safety precautions to protect patients and staff from COVID-19. You run a much greater risk of death or major disability from ignoring the symptoms of life-threatening cardiovascular emergencies than coming to a hospital.