Patient Education and General Information

About Your Heart

• What are the Risk Factors for Heart Disease?
• When Should I use My Nitroglycerin Tablets?
• What is Angina?
• What are the Warning Signs and Symptoms of a Heart Attack?
• Arrhythmia
• Cholesterol
• Healthy Lifestyle
• High Blood Pressure
• What is a Normal Blood Pressure?
• What Physical Activity Can I Do After a Heart Attack?
• Warning Signs of a Stroke

What are the Risk Factors for Heart Disease?

Other factors that contribute to heart disease include:

1. Individual response to stress.
2. Too much alcohol (more than 1 drink a day for women, more than 2 drinks a day for men.)

When Should I use My Nitroglycerin Tablets?

Nitroglycerin mainly relaxes the veins and relaxes the coronary arteries a little. Through this mechanism nitroglycerin eases the heart's workload and increases its blood supply. Improving the blood supply to the heart will relieve chest pain, shortness of breath, and other symptoms caused by an insufficient flow of blood to the heart.

Patients with stable angina can often recognize mild chest pain with activity as their angina. This pain should be discussed with your cardiologist. If the condition is considered stable you should use one to two sublingual nitroglycerin tablets as needed to relieve the pain.

Nitroglycerin tablets should also be used for unstable angina. If you experience chest pain, shortness of breath, neck, arm, or shoulder pain that lasts for more than five minutes place one sublingual nitroglycerin under your tongue and let it dissolve. If you still have pain after five minutes, take a second tablet. If you still have pain after two tablets call 911. You may also take a third tablet. Do not use more than three tablets at once.

Nitroglycerin will lower your blood pressure. For this reason, you should sit when taking the nitroglycerin tablets. Common side effects of the medication include headache, dizziness, and flushing.

What is Angina?

Angina pectoris is the medical term for chest pain or discomfort due to coronary heart disease. It occurs when the heart muscle doesn't get as much blood (hence as much oxygen) as it needs. This usually happens because one or more of the heart's arteries is narrowed or blocked.

Typical angina is uncomfortable pressure, fullness, squeezing, or pain in the center of the chest. The discomfort also may be felt in the neck, jaw, shoulder, back or arm.

Angina often occurs when the heart needs more blood. For example, running to catch a bus could trigger an attack of angina while walking might not. Angina may happen during exercise, strong emotions, or extreme temperatures.

People with stable angina have episodes of chest discomfort that are usually predictable. They occur on exertion (such as running to catch a bus) or under mental or emotional stress. Normally the chest discomfort is relieved with rest, nitroglycerin, or both.

People with new, worsening, or persistent chest discomfort should be evaluated in the hospital emergency department or "chest pain unit" and monitored carefully. They're at increased risk for

• acute myocardial infarction (heart attack).
• Severe cardiac arrhythmias. These may include ventricular tachycardia and fibrillation.
• cardiac arrest leading to sudden death.

What are the Warning Signs and Symptoms of a Heart Attack?

Heart Attack Warning Signs
Some heart attacks are sudden and intense -- the "movie heart attack," where no one doubts what's happening. But most heart attacks start slowly, with mild pain or discomfort. Often people affected aren't sure what's wrong and wait too long before getting help. Here are signs that can mean a heart attack is happening:

• Chest discomfort. Most heart attacks involve discomfort in the center of the chest that lasts more than a few minutes, or that goes away and comes back. It can feel like uncomfortable pressure, squeezing, fullness, or pain.
• Discomfort in other areas of the upper body. Symptoms can include pain or discomfort in one or both arms, the back, neck, jaw, or stomach.
• Shortness of breath. May occur with or without chest discomfort.
• Other signs: These may include breaking out in a cold sweat, nausea, or lightheadedness.

As with men, women's most common heart attack symptom is chest pain or discomfort. But women are somewhat more likely than men to experience some of the other common symptoms, particularly shortness of breath, nausea/vomiting, and back or jaw pain.

If you or someone you're with has chest discomfort, especially with one or more of the other signs, don't wait longer than a few minutes (no more than 5) before calling for help. Call 9-1-1…. Get to a hospital right away.

Calling 9-1-1 is almost always the fastest way to get lifesaving treatment. Emergency medical services staff can begin treatment when they arrive -- up to an hour sooner than if someone gets to the hospital by car. The staff is also trained to revive someone whose heart has stopped. Patients with chest pain who arrive by ambulance receive faster treatment at the hospital too.

If you can't access the emergency medical services (EMS), have someone drive you to the hospital right away. If you're the one having symptoms don't drive yourself, unless you have absolutely no other option.

Arrhythmia

Arrhythmias are disorders of the regular rhythmic beating of the heart.

They're common - as many as 2.2 million Americans are living with Atrial Fibrillations (one type of rhythm problem) Arrhythmias can occur in a healthy heart and be of minimal consequences. They may also indicate a serious problem and lead to heart disease, stroke, or sudden death. (AHA 2006).

Click here to learn the facts and to take the steps needed to understand and control arrhythmias:
http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=10845

Cholesterol

"Cholesterol is a soft, fat-like, waxy-like substance found in the blood stream and all of your body's cells. It is normal to have cholesterol. It is an important part of a healthy body because it is used for producing cell membranes and some hormones, and serves other needed bodily functions. But too much cholesterol in the blood is a major risk for coronary disease which leads to heart attack (AHA 2006)."

Click to find out more about how to manage your cholesterol:
http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=1516

Healthy Lifestyle

Better lifestyle habits can help you reduce your risk for heart attack. Learn what you can do to help prevent heart disease and stroke.

• You are What You Eat.
• It's Not Just a Man's Disease.
• Exercise and Fitness (AHA 2006).

Click to read further:
http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=1200009

High Blood Pressure

"Hypertension is the single highest risk factor for stroke. It is often called the "silent killer". One in three adults have high blood pressure (AHA 2006)."

Click here to find out how you can reduce your risk of heart attack and stroke:
http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=2114

What is a Normal Blood Pressure?

AHA Recommendation
High blood pressure, or hypertension, is defined in an adult as a systolic pressure of 140 mmHg or higher and/or a diastolic pressure of 90 mmHg or higher. Blood pressure is measured in millimeters of mercury (mmHg).

What Physical Activity Can I Do After a Heart Attack?

Consult your cardiologist before starting an exercise program.

Once you are cleared to begin exercise you should start on a gradual, sensible program of increased activity. Insurance often will pay for participation in a cardiac rehabilitation program after a heart attack. After about 16 weeks of supervised cardiac rehabilitation, patients who continued to exercise on their own lowered their chance of death by about 30%.

See your doctor or other healthcare provider if you experience any of these symptoms while exercising.

• During or right after you exercise, you often have pains or pressure in the left or mid-chest area, left neck, shoulder, or arm.
• You've developed chest pain or discomfort within the last month.
• You tend to lose consciousness or fall due to dizziness.
• You feel extremely breathless after mild exertion.

1. Sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arm, or leg, especially on one side of the body.
2. Sudden confusion, trouble speaking or understanding.
3. Sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes.
4. Sudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance, or coordination.
5. Sudden, severe headache with no known cause.

"Coronary heart disease is the #1 killer. Stroke is #3 and a leading cause of serious disability. That's why it is so important to reduce your risk factors, know the warning signs, and know how to respond quickly and properly if warning signs occur (AHA 2006)."

http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier+3053

CARDIO LIBRARY:
Click to view topics from the American Heart Association.

Topics A-E Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Ablation Therapy AIDS and Heart Disease Alcoholic Heart Disease Angina Angioplasty Antiphospholipid Syndrome Aortic Dissection Aortic Regurgitation Aortic Stenosis Arrhythmias Aspirin and Heart Disease Atrial Fibrillation Atrial Septal Defect AV Malformation AV Nodal Reentrant Tachycardia Bradycardia Cardiac Catheterization Cardiomyopathy Congenital Heart Disease COPD Cholesterol Coronary Artery Stent Placement Coronary Heart Disease Coronary Laser Atherectomy Deep Vein Thrombosis Eating Heart Healthy Endocarditis Topics F-J High Blood Pressure Heart Attacks Heart Block Heart Disease and Women Heart Failure Homocysteine Impotence Intra-Aortic Balloon Pump Topics K-O Kawasaki Disease Long Q-T Syndrome Mitral Stenosis Mitral Valve Prolapse Murmurs Myocarditis Nutrition and Heart Disease Obesity, the Heart, and Health Risks Topics P-T Palpitations Pericarditis Peripheral Artery Disease and Angioplasty Peripheral Artery Stent Placement Phen-Fen Usage Physical Activity and Cardiovascular Health Pulmonary Hypertension Pulmonary Stenosis Renal Artery Stenosis Sleep Apnea Smoking Stroke Syncope (Faintness) Sodium and Nutrition Shortness of Breath (Dyspnea) Topics U-Z Ventricular Fibrillation Ventricular Septal Defect Ventricular Tachycardia

SEE ALSO:

• Procedures and Test Definitions
• Echocardiography
• Diagnostic Testing
• Stress Test