Unusual Symptoms in your body may lead to a Heart Attack

We’re living in the world where the most unusual sights are witnessed. Youngsters are diagnosed with diabetes, children struggling with obesity, and lo and behold – older beings are leading a healthy lifestyle as compared to the young generation.

Unfortunately, the younger crowd has also fallen prey to cardiac problems. It definitely is a concern for people to understand their incorrect habits leading to the lifestyle disorders.

We have mistaken heart attack as being sudden with an alarming chest pain, but that’s not always the case. Our body gives a whole different list of signs which may lead to an attack.

Let’s take a look at the Top 5 unusual signs of a Heart Attack:

1. Nausea, vomiting

2. Belching and hiccups

3. Giddiness

4. Pain in the arms, back, abdomen

5. Feeling of profound weakness

However, these symptoms are unfortunately taken for granted and tend to meet ignorance in our daily lifestyles. Excess of any of the above signs should be treated off as early as possible to avoid premature attacks.
For years, it’s been believed that genetics or hereditary is the only reason behind getting a heart-attack. To a large extent, yes! Genetics have an important role in causing diabetes which in return is important to risk factor for coronary artery disease and heart attack. High blood pressure is another disease which has a strong connection both with genetics and heart attack.

Considering the lifestyle disorders in today’s time, blaming your genes completely will be an unfair allegation. Other predisposing factors like obesity, diabetes, drinking, smoking and other sedentary lifestyles are equally important. Fortunately, all of the listed are preventable and if checked in time, it decreases the risk of heart attack significantly.

· Smoking: Within 24 hours of quitting smoking, the risk of heart attack starts decreasing. It decreases significantly within one year of quitting and reaches level of non-smoking within two years of quitting

· Eating healthy food helps us to control our cholesterol levels, blood pressure, diabetes and weight. Nutrient rich foods which have vitamins, minerals, fibre and other nutrients but are low in calories help in keeping the lipid profile in order

· Exercise: Regular exercise can half the risk of heart disease and also reduce chances of diabetes, stroke, and high blood pressure. Research has shown that 3-4 sessions per week of average 40 minutes involving moderate to vigorous physical activity is extremely helpful. Especially, obesity has a significant role in getting of heart attacks. Obese people, around 10 – 30% more than normal body weight are 2 – 6 times at higher risk of developing heart diseases

· Alcoholism: Drinking too much alcohol can raise blood pressure, increase the chance of stroke, produce irregular heartbeat and contribute to obesity. All these are risk factors for heart diseases as well

· Reduce Stress: Few studies have noted relationship between heart diseases and stress in a person’s life

Due to the differences in terms of the biological aspects of women and men, there are differences in the symptoms they get which may lead to severe diseases. Women are less likely to have a typical chest pain and report more nonpain related symptoms. They experience pain in the neck area more frequently. Women underestimate the risk of heart diseases and hence are investigated as well as managed less aggressively than men. In today’s time, younger women are more prone to heart attacks due to the lifestyle disorders faced these days.

If individuals pay heed to the unusual signs which keep taking place in our daily lifestyles, a lot can be cured well in time which will help in leading a healthy life with a healthy heart!

Dr A.D. Katdhare

Medical Director and Trustee at N.M. Wadia Institute of Cardiology