My Loved One Had a Heart Attack…Now What?

Your loved one isn’t alone; every 37 seconds someone in the United States has a heart attack. Nearly 84 million adults suffer from cardiovascular disease, which can include coronary heart disease, heart failure, stroke and high blood pressure. The good news is that your loved one received help and is now a heart attack survivor. Because the severity of heart attacks can have a wide range, you might be feeling confused, overwhelmed, or panicked right now. Try to remain calm and use the following information to educate yourself about the causes of your loved one’s heart attack, treatment options, and recovery information.

Causes

Regardless of the type of heart disease led to your loved one’s heart attack, there are several overarching factors that cause damage to the heart:

• Smoking, including secondhand smoke
• High amounts of certain fats and cholesterol in the blood
• High blood pressure
• High amounts of sugar in the blood, due to insulin resistance or diabetes
• Blood vessel inflammation
• Low estrogen levels before or after menopause
• Obesity or being overweight
• Lack of physical activity
• Unhealthy diet
• Stress or depression
• Anemia
• Sleep apnea
• Family history

Damage from any of the above influences cause plaque to buildup in the coronary arteries. Over time, the plaque can harden which restricts the blood flow to the heart. This can cause chest pain or discomfort called angina. The plaque can also rupture, causing the blood to clot. Blood clots can worsen angina or completely block an artery, causing a heart attack.

Treatment

The post-heart attack treatment that your loved one’s doctor might recommend will vary, but they will probably include some combination of lifestyle changes, medicines, medical and surgical procedures. Lifestyle changes include:

• Cessation of smoking tobacco and avoiding secondhand smoke.
• Change of diet. This means adding fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low-fat dairy products and lean protein, such as chicken, turkey, or fish. Subtracting foods and drinks that are high in added sugars (soda), high in sodium, saturated fats and trans fatty acids, and alcohol.
• Making exercise a daily routine to help lower high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and lower your risk of diabetes. If your loved one finds daily exercise to be difficult, you should aim to have them achieve at least 60 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activities each week.
• Maintaining a healthy weight. Being overweight or obese are major risk factors for coronary heart disease. If you need help figuring out a weight loss plan for your loved, talk to their health provider to refer you to a dietician/nutritionist.
• Learning how to manage stress, anxiety and depression.

Medicines related to heart treatment include:

• Angiotensin II Receptor Blockers, which are used to treat high blood pressure.
• Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme (ACE) inhibitors are used to treat congestive heart failure and high blood pressure. Studies have shown that ACE inhibitors may prevent further damage to the heart muscle after a heart attack.
• Antiarrhythmics are used to treat heart rhythm disorders and lessen the symptoms of arrhythmia.
• Antocoagulants, or blood thinners, also reduce your risk for heart attack, stroke, and blockages in your arteries and veins by preventing blood clots from forming.
• Antiplatelet Therapy is another type of blood thinner that prevent blood cells from sticking together and forming a blood clot. This is a popular choice for patients with a history of coronary artery disease, heart attack, and angina.
• Aspirin is a common type of medicine to use in the prevention of angina, heart attacks and stroke. It also serves as a type of Antiplatelet.
• Beta-Blockers are used to treat high blood pressure, congestive heart failure, arrhythmias and chest pain. Beta Blockers block the effects of adrenaline on the body’s beta receptors, helping the heart slow down due to its decreased need for blood and oxygen.
• Calcium Channel Blockers are used to control high blood pressure, chest pain and irregular heartbeats. They slow the rate at which calcium passes into the heart muscle and vessel walls which relaxes the vessels, and in turn, allows blood to pass through them more easily.
• Digitalis is used to treat congestive heart failure and heart rhythm problems. Digitalis can increase the blood flow throughout thee body and reduce swelling in hands and ankles.
• Diuretics, or “water pills”, are used to treat congestive heart failure, high blood pressure or edema. They lower the amount of salt and water in the body, which helps to lower blood pressure.
• Nitrates are used to treat chest pain and to ease symptoms of congestive heart failure. Nitrates are vasodilators, which widen the blood vessels to improve the blood flow and allow more oxygen-rich blood to get to the heart. Make sure that your loved one does not mix nitrate medication with Viagra, Levitra, or Cialis.
• Statins are cholesterol-lowering medicines that help to block the enzyme in your body that makes LDL, or “bad cholesterol”. Other types of medications that also lower cholesterol are: Bile Acid Sequestrants/Resins, Nicotinic Acid, Fibric Acid Derivatives and Cholesterol Absorption Inhibitors.

Medical and surgical procedures include:

• Angioplasty. This is a non-surgical procedure that opens blocked coronary arteries. Doctors will thread a thin, flexible tube with a balloon on the end through a blood vessel into the blocked coronary artery. Once in place, the balloon is inflated to compress the plaque against the wall of the artery, which allows for blood to flow through the artery. A small mesh tube called a stent is usually placed in the artery after the procedure.
• Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting. During this surgical procedure the surgeon will remove arteries or veins from other areas in the body (often the legs) and uses them to bypass the narrowed or blocked coronary arteries.

Regain Independence

Cardiac rehabilitation aims to help prevent a second heart attack from occurring and to promote healing after experiencing a heart attack, which can be traumatic for the body. Many hospitals offer cardiac rehab programs, some that begin during your loved one’s stay in the hospital and, depending on the severity of the attack, some that continue for an extended period of time after they return home. Cardiac rehab programs tend to focus on four main areas: taking and understanding medications, incorporating difficult lifestyle changes, emotional issues and coping with feelings of stress or depression, and an eventual return to their normal activities. Once they return to their daily routine, a Medical Guardian medical alert system can help keep them safe and provide you with peace of mind 24/7. Should your loved one have another heart attack, time will be of the essence. Medical Guardian’s top-notch monitoring services, will send EMTs to their home within moments, ensuring that they will have the best chance at speedy recovery.