BUSTING HEART ATTACK MYTHS
Ø MYTH-1 - A HEART ATTACK STOPS IT FROM BEATING
· A heart attack happens due to plaque and blood clots blocking the necessary blood flow to the heart muscles, which gives rise to a pain in the chest.
· On the other hand, a cardiac arrest (stoppage) happens when the hear stops pumping the blood.
· Such a patient will not breathe nor his pulse be felt.
· It is not always that a heart attack will lead to a cardiac arrest.
Ø MYTH-2 – A STROKE IS SAME AS HEART ATTACK
· A heart attack happens due to decreased blood flow to the heart muscle.
· But a stroke happens when the blood flow decreases to the brain.
· This can also often happen due to blood clots.
· A heart attack generally causes chest pain and shortness of breath.
· A stroke will generally convert into weakness on one side of the body, speech difficulty, confusion, and unconsciousness.
Ø MYTH-3 – NO CHEST PAIN MEANS NO HEART ATTACK
· Generally, when a victim gets a heart attack, he will experience a shooting pain in the chest through the left arm, and the pressure will be like having an elephant sitting on your chest.
· However, shortness of breath, pain in the arms, neck, jaw or back, especially on the upper left side, sweating, feeling anxious or tired, and colour draining from your face, are also some of the sure-shot signs of a heart attack.
Ø MYTH-4 – NO FAMILY HISTORY MEANS NO RISK
· Though heart disease can run in the family like diabetes, those coming from perfectly normal, healthy families can also be struck with a heart attack due to risk factors like smoking, obesity, unhealthy diet and cholesterol.
· One should not take their heart’s health for granted.
Ø MYTH-5 – HEART DISEASE IS ONLY IN OLDER PEOPLE
· Even teenagers and middle-aged people might have the fat blocking the major arteries, and may suffer from heart attacks.