Myocardial infarction usually happens unexpectedly – the cardiologist warned of any signs of neglect

– Do you notice the effects of heat in your work, depending on which patients you are receiving?

– We note that the nature of patients has changed. Overall, the overall flow of patients may have slowed slightly since the summer, everyone is on vacation. But we are receiving more patients for thromboembolism, their number has increased in recent weeks.

– What does bad heat do to our cardiovascular system?

– Short-term heat does nothing wrong, but it is damaging in the long term as body temperature rises. The best way to see this is to go to the sauna. Heart rate increases, sweating occurs. When we go to a Finnish sauna, we can tolerate more heat, and in a Russian sauna, even a little heat is heavy. Humidity is high in Lithuania, so the sensory temperature is higher. The person sweats a lot and the sweat does not evaporate, the pulse is higher. We lose fluids and salts, and the heart has to beat more frequently due to the reduction in the amount of fluids. Blood pressure can drop and less blood reaches the brain. There is weakness, fatigue. Heat can also cause nausea and headaches.

– For healthy people, this is probably not very dangerous, but you should eat less fatty foods, drink more fluids, right?

– Yes. Healthy people are less at risk because they adapt more easily. The body knows how to cool down, but when the heat lasts, the body needs help. First of all, it is to give liquids. Men should drink 2 to 2.5 liters a day, women 1.5 to 2 liters a day. The WHO recommends 30 ml per kilogram of body weight. However, when we sweat, we need to drink even more water. Also, you should try to protect yourself and avoid alcohol, coffee, and hot rooms. Thicker blood can cause clots, which can lead to complications and going to the hospital.

– You say that during heat the pressure can also decrease. How to deal with those who are taking medication for high blood pressure? Do you need to change something?

– You need to keep up with your pressure. In most cases, the pressure of a hot year lessens. But if there is any disease, such as coronary heart disease, it can get worse. If a person is taking antihypertensive medication, they should measure their blood pressure daily and avoid messy medication. It is better to adjust the dose of the drug, take half a tablet. With the onset of frosts, in the fall, the pressure increases again.

– Does heat increase the risk of heart attack and stroke?

– Yes, it is when fluid is lost, the blood thickens, the risk of a clot forming that clogs the blood vessels increases. An increased heart rate is also a risk for heart attack and stroke. However, we see cases of pulmonary artery thromboembolism more frequently. As a result, you need to drink more fluids to protect older family members. Older people tend not to feel thirsty as well as younger people. This can lead to illness.

– What are the symptoms of pulmonary embolism?

– Clots tend to form in the veins of the legs. There is pain in one leg, it is red, swollen. If this happens, see a family doctor and find a reason. The main symptom is shortness of breath: if a person begins to breathe, the rhythm may be disturbed, an ambulance should be called.

– How dangerous is this condition?

– It depends on the level you have. If the clot is small, on one side of the lung, it is not very dangerous and the mortality is not very high. If there are many clots and they obstruct most of the lungs, the mortality is very high.

– Myocardial infarction is a sufficiently acute and sudden condition. But some time ago, I spoke with an ambulance doctor who told me that the man had been complaining of pain for a few days and that he had not done anything even though he had had a heart attack. What are the first symptoms that may indicate an upcoming myocardial infarction?

– Myocardial infarction is a condition that usually occurs unexpectedly. One minute the person is still healthy and the next minute the blood vessel becomes clogged, causing acute pain that the person has not felt in life. However, others may experience shortness of breath during exercise, chest discomfort, especially when carrying something harder, climbing stairs, and agitation. If this happens, see a doctor, cardiologist, or family members. And if you have experienced pain that a person has not yet felt, you should not think that it will pass, but contact a specialist as soon as possible. When we arrive late to the hospital, we have serious complications. In the past, myocardial infarction was a fatal disease. 40 years ago, the treatment lasted a month, with a death rate of about 30 percent. Mortality is now around 4-7%. and few serious cases. The most common complications are delays in going to the hospital. The last case was when a person suffered for 3 days and only after that did he come to the hospital. As we tell patients that every minute counts. When we have a blocked blood vessel for 24 hours, everything that can die in that place dies. The heart no longer contracts and a vicious cycle is established when the body can no longer function on its own.

– Sometimes heart pain can be confused with stomach pain. Are these pains different?

– When you have stomach sores or any disease, it may seem like a pain to the heart, not the stomach. It should be noted that the pain does not occur exactly after a meal, especially after a spicy one. If after a meal, the problem is probably in the stomach. If it is related to exercise, we think more about the heart.

– There are cases in which young people also suffer from heart disease. Sometimes we can hear that a 30-year-old, without complaining to anyone before, is stunned and dies. What’s going on here?

– Yes, it’s weirder and it’s dead, but it also happens. During the pandemic, we found that young people without high-risk factors were more likely to get sick. One of the most common common indicators is that they have had a COVID-19 infection in the past few months. We can’t say exactly yet that this is actually related, but such trends are remarkable. A sudden booty can also be, we had a footballer from the Danish team who spoiled. In this case, the cause is usually not a coronary disease, but some genetic disease. Then it should be noted if there have been any deaths from heart disease in the family before. Seek cardiologists for tests. Be that as it may, if a person feels a heartbeat, a cardiologist should be consulted for a 24-hour cardiogram.

– All doctors reiterate that nutrition and physical activity are paramount. How much can we already feel the result of changing our diet and lifestyle?

– As long as a person moves, he is alive. When it comes to nutrition, I tell my patients that they can eat everything little by little, and that it should be based on vegetables. The biggest problem is that we overeat, the calories are too high. As much as people eat, you don’t even need to run marathons. That is why it is so important to watch how much we eat and not stop moving. As we move, muscle mass increases, as do the mitochondria that are plant cells. Convert oxygen into energy. When a person who does a lot of sports does not move for a while, the mitochondria are still working and, as a result, the cells regenerate faster, the blood pressure is lower, and the mood is better. These people are less likely to get sick and have better immunity. The World Health Organization recommends that everyone do a moderate to high intensity sport 5 times a week to break a sweat. […] Compared to those who do not play any sports with those who play tennis, their lives differ by 10 years, those who play tennis live 10 more years.