Myocardial Infarction In Women
What is a Myocardial Infarction? Myocardial Infarction, also known as a heart attack, occurs when there is a blockage in one of the coronary arteries. The heart is a muscle that needs oxygenated blood and nutrients to survive. When a blockage occurs in the arteries, oxygen and nutrients are cut off from the heart for an extensive time. The blocked portion of tissue in heart dies. Blockages can occur due to several factors. Coronary artery disease is the most prevalent cause. Coronary artery disease or atherosclerosis is due to plaque buildup and narrowing in the artery walls. These plaques are made from cholesterol and waste products. This buildup on artery walls can restrict blood flow; a process that can take
Blood clots can accumulate due to atherosclerosis plaque buildup. When plaque builds up and break off in the artery a blood clot can form. If the blood clot is large enough, it can particularly or completely block the artery. A blocked artery segment is what causes tissue death due to deprived oxygenated blood. If this problem is not treated right away, the portion of the heart fed by the artery will begin to die. Scar tissue will form on what was once health heart tissue. The heart damage may not be noticeable, or it may cause severe or long-lasting problems. (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute) Another cause of heart attacks is due to a severe coronary artery spasm, this is this least common cause. Coronary artery spasms are brief temporary tightening or contraction of the muscles in the artery wall. Spasms can emerge in coronary arteries that aren 't affected by atherosclerosis. It 's not clear as to why these spasms arise but they are most likely due to: physical exertion, emotional stress or pain, exposure to extreme cold, cigarette smoking, cocaine
When a heart attack strikes in men the symptoms can almost always been unmistakable. The most common and widely recognized symptoms are chest pain or pressure that feels like an "elephant sitting across the chest" (American heart association), and pain that radiates down the left arm. Women however may not experience these common symptoms. Women may experience chest pain or discomfort that feels like squeezing or fullness, pain can be felt anywhere in the chest not just on the left side.(Webmd) Other symptoms may include pain in the arms, back, neck or jaw; which can be gradual or sudden. Shortness of breath may occur with or without chest pain. Additional symptoms may include, cold sweats, nausea/vomiting, lightheadedness or fatigue .Women often disregard heart attack symptoms or mistake them for less severe conditions, such as acid reflux, normal aging or the flu. According to the American Heart Association heart disease is the number one killer of women and the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute states that 1 in 4 women in the United States die from heart
Cardiomyopathy, by definition, means the weakening of the heart muscle. The heart is operated by a striated muscle that relies on the autonomic nervous system to function. Cardiomyopathy is diagnosed in four different ways based on what caused the illness and exactly what part of the heart is weakened. The four main types of cardiomyopathy are dilated cardiomyopathy, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, restrictive cardiomyopathy, and arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia. One other category of cardiomyopathy that is diagnosed is “unclassified cardiomyopathy.” Unclassified cardiomyopathy is the weakening of the heart that does not fit into the main four categories.
The preliminary step in myocardial infarction is atherosclerosis. Atherosclerosis does not occur abruptly, it is a gradual and dynamic inflammatory disease which causes the narrowing of lumen due to the deposition of lipid and foam cells. The formation of fatty streak; which will eventually become a plaque causes the vessel lumen to diminish. The plaque will become unstable, rupture and eventually lead to the event of plaque disruption.
This assignment is a case study that aims to explore the biospychosocial impacts of a myocardial infarction on a service user. It will focus on the interventions used by healthcare professionals throughout the patient’s journey to recovery. To abide by the NMC’s code of conduct (2015) which states that all nurses owe a duty of confidentiality to all those who are receiving care, the service user used in this case study will be referred to as Julie. Julie is a 67 year old lady who was rushed to her local accident and emergency following an episode of acute chest pain and was suspected to have suffered from a myocardial infarction. Julie who lives alone reported she had been experiencing shortness of breath and
Coronary heart disease is defined by the hardening of the epicardial coronary arteries. The buildup of plaque in the arteries slowly narrows the coronary artery lumen. In order to better understand the physiology of the disease, it is important to first know the basic anatomy of the human heart. The aorta, located in the superior region of the heart, branches off into two main coronary blood vessels, otherwise known as arteries. The arteries are located on the left and right side of the heart and span its surface. They subsequently branch off into smaller arteries which supply oxygen-rich blood to the entire heart (Texas Heart Institute, 2013). Therefore, the narrowing of these arteries due to plaque buildup significantly impairs blood flow throughout the heart.
Today, cardiovascular disease is “the number one killer in the United States and the developed world” (Sapolsky, 2004, p. 41). Coronary heart disease (CHD) is the most common form of cardiovascular disease, and is responsible for claiming an unreasonable amount of lives every year. CHD can begin to accumulate in young adults, but is prominently found in both men and women in their later adult lives. As a result of CHD, men typically experience heart attacks, whereas women present with chest pains, known as angina (Matthews, 2005).
Succinctly speaking, a myocardial infarction is not a disease but rather an event occurring due to the progression of coronary heart disease. 1(p.125) With coronary heart disease, the flow of blood which supplies the heart with oxygen is blocked, reducing the amount of oxygen received by the cardiac muscles and resulting in damage or death of cardiac muscle....
Myocardial infarctions are caused by vascular endothelial disruption most often associated with plaque build-up or atherosclerosis that develops over several years and causes thrombus formation which in turn
One of the leading causes of death in the United States is heart disease. “Approximately every 29 seconds one American will have a heart attack, and once a minute one American will die from a heart attack” (Ford-Martin and Odle, 915). According to the Gale Encyclopedia of Alternative Medicine men over the age of 45 and women over the age of 55 are considered at risk for heart disease. Heart disease is a major cause of death. It is beneficial to individuals who seek to prevent heart disease to recognize the risks leading to heart attacks as they are one of the primary indications of developing heart disease; especially those that fall into the at risk age groups. These risks consist of some that cannot be changed such as heredity risks, or those that can change such as smoking habits. It is very important to know these specific risks for prevention and to understand the symptoms of heart attacks, such as sweating or the feeling of weakness so if these or other symptoms occur people are aware. Finally heart disease treatment is of vital importance if you experience a heart attack so you can learn how to prevent another one from occurring.
(Slide 2) What is Cardiomyopathy? If we break down the word we can see “Cardio” which means of the heart, “myo” which means muscle, and “pathy” which means disease, therefore cardiomyopathies are diseases of the heart muscle. (Slide 3) There are 3 main types of cardiomyopathies; hypertrophic, dilated, and restrictive. I will only be discussing dilated cardiomyopathy, which is characterized by the enlargement of the hearts chambers with impaired systolic function. It is estimated that as many as 1 of 500 adults may have this condition. Dilated cardiomyopathy is more common in blacks than in whites and in males than in females. It is the most common form of cardiomyopathy in children and it can occur at any age (CDC).
In normal circumstances, generic symptoms are reported. Things like orthopnea, chest pains and tightness, dizziness, palpitations, and rapid weight loss are reported. For severer cases clubbing of fingers, bluish tents, fainting, and dyspnea are expected. Different symptoms can be associated with different locations of the myxoma. For example, in the left atria, more patients experience head pain and pulmonary edema with the myxoma, while in the right atria, they have greater symptoms of right heart failure. It has also been expressed that changes in body position and fast movements can bring on symptoms. Symptoms can be experienced in a few different ways. Some people report having them continually everyday whiles others come and
Attacks might last a few minutes or several days. They can be serious and sometimes not serious. Palpitations happen when your heart skips beats. Palpitations have many different symptoms. Some of these symptoms are dizziness, fatigue or fainting as a result of the brain not getting enough oxygen rich blood, chest pain, shortness of breath, and death (which occurs rarely).
Oxygen was first admitted to the client with chest pain over 100 years ago (Metcalfe, 2011). Chest pain is a large bracket that can contain many different conditions, but for the purpose of this analysis it is focused manly upon a myocardial infarction. A myocardial infarction is mainly referred to as a heart attack, and occurs when one or more coronary arteries leading to the heart reduce or completely stop blood flow (Tuipulotu, 2013 ). Administering high concentrations of oxygen to patients with chest pain is now embedded in guidelines, protocols and care pathways, even with a lack of clear supporting evidence (Nicholson, 2004 ). High concentration of oxygen means that up to 60% is administered (Knott, 2012). More recent research has suggested that the use of oxygen in this scenario is unnecessary and can lead to unwanted side effects, especially in normoxic cardiac patients (Moradkham & Sinoway, 2010 ). The aim of this comparative analysis is to dismantle and understand both the benefits and risks of the commonly known practice of administration of oxygen to the client with chest pain. Through completing this analysis using recent and appropriate evidence a more improved practice can be given and understood.
Heart disease describes a range of conditions that affect your heart. Diseases under the heart disease umbrella include blood vessel diseases, heart rhythm problems, and heart defects. The major cause of this is a build-up of fatty plaques in the arteries. Plaque build-up thickens and stiffens the vessel walls, which can inhibit blood flow through the arteries to organs and tissues.
Stenosis occurs when there is a narrowing of an artery. As sonographers, we most commonly see this occur in the carotid arteries. Fatty substances and cholesterol deposits build up along the walls of these arteries and are referred to as plaque. According to Eslami & Pounds (2016), the most common cause of plaque build up in the carotid arteries are smoking, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and diabetes. When this plaque builds up within the walls of an artery it will become atherosclerotic. As atherosclerosis progresses, the plaque will continue to grow and can create a blockage. This is also the same type of plaque that forms in the heart and causes heart attacks.
A myocardial infarction occurs when the coronary arteries become blocked. This blockage leads to decreased oxygenated blood flow to the heart muscle. The blockage is typically caused by a buildup of atherosclerotic plaque on the inside lining of the coronary arteries (What). If this plaque ruptures then a myocardial infarction will take place. When the plaque ruptures the immune system begins to respond by sending platelets to fight it. The problem here is that the platelets are sticky and they clot together. When platelets reach the site of the rupture they attach to it and make a blood clot. This decreases the open diameter of the coronary artery and causes less blood to reach the heart muscle. The heart muscle following