Myocardial infarction is a very scary disease that leads directly to death if its detection and treatment are delayed.
It is reported that half of the patients who had myocardial infarction felt some kind of aura.
Heart disease, including myocardial infarction, is the second leading cause of death in Japan, and is largely related to the westernization of diet, lifestyle habits, and mental stress. In Japan, about 40,000 people die of myocardial infarction every year.
Among them, the generation in the prime of life is on the rise, so we have to be especially careful compared to other generations.
In this article, we will introduce the signs, causes, treatment, and countermeasures of myocardial infarction.
If you are worried about all kinds of pre-illness due to unhealthy lifestyles and lack of regular exercise, please be sure to watch until the end.
table of contents
1. What kind of disease is myocardial infarction?
Myocardial infarction is a life-threatening disease that results in abrupt blockage of a part of the blood vessels surrounding the heart, resulting in myocardial necrosis, leading to cardiac dysfunction and severe arrhythmia.
Compared to spring and summer, it tends to be more frequent in the cold season of autumn and winter. By gender, it is reported that men in their 30s to 60s and women in their 70s are on the rise.
For men, this is often related to lifestyle habits such as smoking and working late at night.
In addition, men tend to develop it on Mondays when they start work, and women tend to develop it on Saturdays when they are more stressed with housework and family care.
2. Myocardial infarction is one of the causes of heart failure
A heart muscle that has suffered a myocardial infarction does not have sufficient pump function.
As a result, the non-necrotic portion of the myocardium covers the work of the entire heart, placing a heavy burden on the heart and causing heart failure.
When heart failure occurs, the amount of blood pumped out of the heart decreases, causing fluid to build up in the lungs and making it difficult to breathe. In addition, blood flow to the kidneys is insufficient, leading to swelling and weight gain.
Cardiomyopathy, in which the heart's ability to pump blood is reduced, valvular disease, in which the heart valves do not function properly, and congenital heart disease, can also cause heart failure.
3. Points to check for signs of myocardial infarction
It has been reported that about half of the patients who developed myocardial infarction did not seek medical attention even though they felt some kind of abnormality in their heart, and developed the disease later.
Here are some points to check so as not to miss the warning signs of myocardial infarction.
3-1. Chest tightness/pain
The following symptoms may be seen as precursors of myocardial infarction:
● Chest pain, chest tightness, and tightness lasting from a few minutes to about 10 minutes
● Heartburn
● Arm, shoulder, back, jaw, tooth pain
● Pain appears or worsens when walking up and down stairs, walking, etc.
Pain felt in areas other than the heart is called radiating pain, and it typically radiates from the left arm to the left shoulder, but pain may also appear in the upper body, such as the right arm, right shoulder, both shoulders, and jaw.
About half of people who have a myocardial infarction have a sudden onset, so the aura does not occur in all patients.
3-2. Symptom check sheet to check for myocardial infarction
Let's check the basic symptoms so that you don't panic, "Is this a myocardial infarction?"
A hallmark symptom of a heart attack is pain that does not go away. Delays in discovery and treatment can reduce survival rates and lead to death.
If you feel any of the following symptoms, call an ambulance as soon as possible.
● Sudden severe pain in the chest or back
● Sudden shortness of breath/dyspnea
● Pain that feels like the chest is being squeezed or squeezed and lasts for 2 to 3 minutes.
● Severe palpitations
4. General treatment methods for myocardial infarction and cardiac regenerative medicine
About 20 minutes after myocardial infarction, necrosis of myocardial cells begins.
Once necrosis occurs, the heart cannot recover.
Here, I will explain general treatment methods and cardiac regenerative medicine for myocardial infarction.
4-1. Common treatments for myocardial infarction
Common treatments for myocardial infarction include drug therapy, cardiac catheterization, and coronary artery bypass surgery.
● Drug therapy is essential for the treatment of myocardial infarction.
This medicine dilates the coronary arteries to promote blood flow, reduce patient pain, and prevent new blood clots from forming.
● Cardiac catheterization is a treatment that widens narrowed blood vessels that cause myocardial infarction without using a scalpel.
● Coronary artery bypass surgery is commonly referred to as heart surgery.
It is a method to secure blood flow by connecting a blood vessel collected from one's own chest or leg to an extremely thin or blocked blood vessel.
4-2. Treatment with regenerative medicine
In recent years, heart regenerative medicine using iPS cells (universal cells that can transform into cells of various body tissues and organs) is expected to become a new treatment method.
For patients with severe heart failure caused by myocardial infarction, the only effective treatments are heart transplantation and ventricular assist device therapy. In addition, Japan has a serious shortage of donors, making it difficult to treat patients with heart transplants.
Therefore, iPS cells are used to create cardiomyocyte sheets and transplant them into the heart to improve the function of the heart. Currently, clinical trials of transplantation therapy are underway, and it is expected to become a new treatment for severe heart failure.
5. Causes and measures of myocardial infarction
The causes of myocardial infarction are largely related to aging and lifestyle habits.
First, take a look at your physical condition, diet, and lifestyle habits. If you notice a problem with your health or lifestyle, try to improve it.
5-1. causes of myocardial infarction
Atherosclerosis is the cause of myocardial infarction.
Arteriosclerosis refers to the condition in which blood vessels become fragile due to aging, smoking, and bad cholesterol.
Risk factors that cause myocardial infarction are as follows.
● Hypertension
● Diabetes
● Dyslipidemia (hyperlipidemia)
● Smoking
● Stress
People with three or more of these risk factors have a 30-fold increased risk of developing a heart attack compared to those without any of them.
5-2. Measures and preventive measures to prevent myocardial infarction
Prevention of myocardial infarction is important for improvement and treatment of lifestyle-related diseases.
● Eat well-balanced meals without overeating
● Reduce the number of cigarettes or quit smoking
● If you are already undergoing treatment for a lifestyle-related disease, do not arbitrarily stop treatment.
● In winter, be careful of temperature differences and take measures against the cold
● Undergo a specific medical examination once a year
Specific health checkups are health checkups that focus on metabolic syndrome.
Medical insurance subscribers between the ages of 40 and 74 should undergo a specific checkup once a year to prevent lifestyle-related diseases.
6. Summary: There are cases where the precursors of myocardial infarction do not occur, so let's adjust your lifestyle and take measures.
About half of patients who have had a myocardial infarction admit to having had an aura.
However, myocardial infarction is a disease that is difficult to predict, as there are no warning signs, and in some cases it develops suddenly.
It is a very scary disease that can lead to death or heart failure if the diagnosis and treatment are delayed.
In order to prevent myocardial infarction, it is important to prevent arteriosclerosis, which is the primary cause.
In order to live a healthy life, please review your daily habits and be aware of specific medical examinations, disease prevention, and early detection once a year.
In addition, regenerative medicine using stem cells etc.Treatment methods that have been shown to be effective in the field of preventing myocardial infarctionis.
Research and clinical trials are still ongoing, but regenerative medicine such as stem cells is still used as a treatment method.
In the future, it will be developed as a more familiar treatment. We hope that you will take this opportunity to become interested in regenerative medicine, acquire knowledge about it, and consider actually treating it.
Knee pain and neuralgia do not go away easily. She has been suffering from illness and beauty for many years. Please feel free to contact us if you have any concerns regarding your daily life.
Omotesando Helene Clinic specializes in regenerative medicine that does not place a burden on the body, and provides pre-counseling for those who cannot immediately start treatment.
"I'm curious, but I can't decide if prevention is really necessary now." You may be at risk of wandering life and death without realizing it, so Please feel free to contact us.
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