cardiovascular disease - 10 common heart myths

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.