What is a Massive Heart Attack?
Heart attack or Myocardial Infarction is regarded as a major health concern as it is often associated with a high death rate. Basically, what happens during a massive heart attack is that a large number of heart muscle tissues die from lack of oxygen due to restriction of blood supply to any part of the heart.
This is caused by blockage in coronary artery, particularly any of the three major coronary arteries (LAD, Circ, or RCA). LAD means Left Anterior Descending, Circ means Circumflex and RCA means Right Coronary Artery.
Issues such as what is a major heart attack or what is a minor heart attack are mainly decided on the basis of the location and amount of blockage in the artery. Massive heart attack is characterized by extensive heart muscle damage and can even prove to be fatal.
Death of heart muscle in turn causes electrical instability of the heart muscle tissue that gives rise to electrical disturbances in the lower chambers of the heart (ventricular fibrillation) that renders the heart ineffective in delivering oxygenated blood to the brain. Lack of oxygenated blood flow for more than five minutes can lead to permanent brain damage.
It is for this reason that the patient is given CPR (Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation) or electric shock to make the heart pump and restore normal heartbeat. Besides, a combination of severe heart dysfunction and acute heart attack can also cause sudden death.
What Causes a Massive Heart Attack?
Atherosclerosis is the most important cause of massive coronary heart attack. Atherosclerosis is a coronary artery disease characterized by accumulation of plaque inside arteries that ultimately hardens and narrows the arteries thereby obstructing the flow of oxygenated blood the heart and other parts of the body.
It may also encourage the formation of blood clots in the arteries. Coronary Artery Spasm and Coronary Microvascular Disease can also cause heart attack. In addition, unstable Angina is considered as a warning sign of an impending heart attack. Massive heart attack increases the chances of heart failure.
Hereditary factors and increasing age also tend to increase the risk of heart diseases leading to masive hartatack. Factors like high blood cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes, chronic kidney disease, smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, stress, obesity, insufficient physical activity, high fat diet and other such lifestyle factors may also increase the risk of developing heart problems.
What Happens When You Have a Massive Heart Attack?
The most common and equally debilitating massive heart attack symptom is chest pain that tends to radiate to back, jaw, neck or either of the arms through nerves. The pain is experienced in the form of pressure, tightness, squeezing or burning sensation in the chest.
Damage done by a massive heart attack causes destruction of heart muscle tissues and affects the functioning of heart adversely. Heart cells start dying due to lack of oxygen. Restoring the oxygenated blood flow as soon as possible can help reduce the damage.
Pain in the area between shoulder blades, back pain, dizziness, anxiety, breathlessness, cold sweats, palpitation, nausea and weakness in general are some other massive heart attack symptoms.
The symptom of chest pain is common in both the sexes but the other less common symptoms of massive heart attack are more likely to be experienced by females. On the other hand, in certain cases sudden death may be caused due to heart attack with no specific warning signs. Therefore, symptoms can vary from one individual to another.
Massive heart attacks are often confused with cardiac arrest and associated with sudden deaths but it is not necessarily true. Though heart attack can lead to cardiac arrest but the two conditions are not the same.
Recovering From a Massive Heart Attack
The extent of recovery depends on the amount of damage done. Massive heart attacks tend to cause permanent damage when treatment is not administered immediately.
The most popular and effective way is to give an adult asprin and take the patient to hospital as soon as possible. Aspirin helps to prevent the formation of clots in the coronary arteries. Clopidogrel or ticlopidine may also be given if the patient is allergic to aspirin.
In case the patient becomes unconscious call 911 and follow their directions to resuscitate him/her. Nitroglycerin helps to reduce pain. Besides, surgeries like angioplasty or intracoronary stenting are performed in the hospital to open a blocked artery. Early reopening of an obstructed coronary artery tends to reduce the amount of damage.
Doctors may prescribe captopril, lisinopril, ramipril, enalapril or other angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors after a heart attack to avoid heart failure. Cardiac rehabilitation programs are also beneficial.
Moreover, for recovering from a massive heart attack, one should also adopt healthy lifestyle changes by avoiding stress, having a low fat diet, engaging in adequate physical activity on a regular basis, avoiding cigarette smoking and keeping diabetes, cholesterol, blood pressure and other similar conditions in control.
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My lovely wonderful dad died and was cremated last week , went to pick my mum up in the car from work, had not eaten his dinner and there was some indigestion stuff in the sink, arrived parked the car turned the engine off looked like he had tried to use his phone when my mum got in the car he was dead. doctors say it was hypertension and thrombosis clot due to hardening of the arteries, he swam 60 lengths per week and walked about 5 miles, he had just had a mot from the doctor in october and he had no signs of any just mentioned, life is cruel did not get to say goodbye he was with my mum for 47 years and they were never apart so now i have to look after her as she suffers with anxiety and depression but is doing good at the moment, R.I.P MY LOVELY DAD WHO I WILL MISS FOREVER XXXXXXX YOUR DARLING DAUGHTER MO
Massive heart attacks can take a loved one very quickly before you relize they are gone. My husband on feb, 26,2012 worked most of the day, came home took a shower we had dinner watched tv talked we laugh, he made me a promise that evening, we made plans for that sunday, he got up said he was going to the bathroom and get something to drink, no longer than a couple of minutes I heard him yell my name unnormally loud and then something hit the floor very hard I ran to to the kitchen to find him laying face down I call 911 they told me to row him over as I turned his face toward me I heard him take his last 2 breaths emergency workers work on him for over an hour before tranporting him to the hospital when I arrive at the hospital the doctor told me he had been with out oxygen for 1 1/2 hrs and there was nothing they could do to save him, I already knew that, the Dr. said it took him so fast that he didn’t think he had time to feel any pain I would have never dreamed that this would happen not on this evening he was in such a great mood . I would of gave anything to have had some kind of warning anything so that I could of got him to the hospital and hopefully save his life. I have lost the love of my life for 32 years my best friend and the half that made us complete.
I worked in a level-1 trauma center/emergency room for about 5 years. One of the triage nurses told me that it is quite common for a patient claiming to be having a heart attack, to have heartburn, and a patient claiming to have heartburn, to be having a heart attack. It seems strange but the two do have a lot of similar symptoms but it is dangerous to ignore them.l
I have also heard that a number of women experience jaw and neck pain when having a heart attack. This differs from men who tend to have pain in their upper extremities, typically the arm. A close lady friend had just been to the dentist for dental work, and coincidentally, experienced a heart attack the day after. She almost lost her life because she was certain it was a tooth that was causing her jaw pain. Luckily her dentist was able to differentiate the two conditions and sent her immediately to the E/R.
I am lucky. 43 years young and invincible until a couple of weeks ago when I experienced a massive heart attack lasting about 40 minutes and ending in cardiac arrest just outside the ER. An eye opener for me to be sure. I was the poster child for a heart attack waiting to happen. Smoker for 27 years, red meat, salami, binge drinker, zero exercise, loved salt etc… Thank God I get a second chance. Quit smoking and drinking, lowered salt and fat intake, tread mill every day.
I did notice some pressure in my chest with slight numbness in my left arm two or three nights in a row when lying down for sleep prior to the incident. Little did I know what those minor indications really meant. Keeping my fingers crossed that the damage to my heart is limited and/or repairable.