Heart attack is one of the leading cause of
death in the world. Having wrong ideas about it puts you at more risk for
developing heart problems. Here are common misconceptions about heart attack
worth paying attention to:
1. Heart
attack is for later years. Why worry now?
If you don’t want to deal with heart attack
signs in the future, you should start now. Even fatty food eaten from your
teenage years can accumulate in your bloodstream, forming a plaque that will
later block blood from flowing in your arteries, causing a heart attack.
2. Heart
disease is in our family. I can’t stop it.
Yes, you can. By embracing a more active
lifestyle coupled with a healthy diet (include anti-heart attack food in your
diet), you can definitely reduce your chances of developing heart problems.
3. Because
I have a heart ailment, I need to sit or lie down most of the time.
Wrong. Although you’ll be advised to avoid
stress, this isn’t a ticket to laze around. Physical activity is, in fact, important
for your recovery. But don’t overdo it. Ask your doctor for examples of
approved exercises or activities.
4. Diabetes
medication reduces the risk of heart attack.
While it is true that diabetes medication
regulates your blood sugar level, it does not decrease cholesterol and high
blood pressure.
5. Taking
cholesterol-reducing medication allows you to eat anything you want.
If you eat food high in cholesterol and
saturated in fat, your medication won’t be able to bring down your cholesterol even
if you take them diligently.
6. Heart
attack usually just happens to men.
This may have been true a long time ago but
since 1983 the number of women dying from heart-related diseases has surpassed
men’s statistics.
7. Stay
away from fat to avoid a heart attack.
Not all fat is bad. There is such thing as
good cholesterol which even promotes heart health. Nuts, avocado, olive oil,
fishes with high Omega 3 content are sources of healthy fat or good
cholesterol.
8. Undergoing
angioplasty or a heart bypass procedure cures your heart disease.
These procedures can relieve angina (chest
discomfort because of clogged arteries that block the passage of blood carrying
oxygen). But if you are not careful with your diet and lifestyle after the
procedure, you can still go back to having clogged arteries and you’ll again
experience heart attack signs.
9. Heart
attack and cardiac arrest are the same.
Heart.org differentiates these two with
this explanation: “A heart attack is when blood flow to the heart is blocked,
and sudden cardiac arrest is when the heart malfunctions and suddenly stops
beating unexpectedly. A heart attack is a “circulation” problem and sudden
cardiac arrest is an “electrical” problem”.
10. When
I feel excruciating pain in my chest as if “an elephant sat on me,” that’s when
I’ll know I’m having a heart attack.
This may be true sometimes but not all the
time. There is such thing as a ‘silent heart attack’ which is often experienced
by Diabetics and women. This means that they are having an attack but they
don’t feel pain in the chest. They are however experiencing other symptoms such
as nausea, fatigue, and breathlessness.
