Contents:
- Medical Video: 5 Risk Factors for Heart Disease | Cedars-Sinai
- Know how the heart works for the body
- Why does high blood pressure cause heart problems?
- What are the signs of a heart attack?
- How can I prevent a heart attack?
Medical Video: 5 Risk Factors for Heart Disease | Cedars-Sinai
Heart attacks can affect anyone regardless of age and sex. Unfortunately, this heart attack should be known early if you regularly check blood pressure. The reason, high blood pressure or hypertension can cause sudden heart attacks to fatal consequences. What is the relationship between high blood pressure and heart attack? Let's look at the explanation below:
Know how the heart works for the body
Before much further, you must understand the functions and workings of the heart for the body. First, just like all organs, the heart has its own muscles. Well, all heart muscles can work well if you have:
- Sufficient oxygen supply
- Energy and nutrient reserves
- Ways to get rid of toxins or harmful impurities in the body
When one of the above is disturbed, the heart can be damaged and lose the ability to pump blood throughout the body effectively. Heart attacks can also occur when the oxygen supply to the heart is disrupted for various reasons.
The heart supplies oxygen with a special group of blood vessels, called coronary vessels. The function of this coronary artery is to bring blood out of it. Because there are hundreds of millions of cells in the heart, and all of them need oxygen, there is a special way for each cell to get the oxygen it needs.
Oxygen passes through the blood, to the outermost cells of the heart wall. Oxygen passes through these cells and enters deeper parts of the cells in the heart.
Why does high blood pressure cause heart problems?
High blood pressure is likened to making the heart become more heavy. Your heart must work harder to pump blood throughout the body. When the heart pumps more blood and is heavy there are several things that can happen. Blood vessels can be damaged by blood pressure that is too high,
In addition, high blood pressure can also make the heart muscles thicken. This makes it difficult for the heart to pump blood. In the end it can experience malfunction because it supports a burden that is too heavy to pump blood. In addition, high blood pressure can also cause arteries that surround the heart to harden, eventually leading to a heart attack.
What are the signs of a heart attack?
Heart attack is a serious condition that can be life threatening, so it is important to know the warning signs to indicate a heart attack.
Some of the symptoms that you should be aware of are:
- Pain or pressure on the chest or upper arm
- Sudden breathing difficulties
- Sweating a lot without doing many activities
- Nausea after doing hard work like exercising
You should understand that symptoms can occur at any time and need immediate medical attention.
How can I prevent a heart attack?
There are many things that people with high blood pressure can do to help prevent a heart attack. All of these steps require commitment and sincerity to be healthy right, and if done will reduce the risk of heart attack.
Some ways are:
- Take your medication as directed
- Avoid heavy activities. Perform activities slowly
- Do not smoke
- Control your weight. Even a 5% reduction in your body weight is very beneficial
- Avoid foods that are high in salt and fat, especially trans fats
- Talk to your doctor and do a sports program.
