How to Increase Your Chances of Surviving a Heart Attack

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention state that, at the time of publication, 785,000 Americans a year experience their first heart attack, or myocardial infarction. More than half of those heart attack survivors go on to face repeated attacks. In addition, the American Heart Association reports that 88 percent of heart attacks occur in the home. While no sure-fire way exists to fully eliminate the possibility of your having a heart attack, you can increase your chances of survival no matter where you are by becoming knowledgeable and remaining prepared.

Know Your Risk Factors

• Learn the risk factors for heart disease and determine your likelihood of facing a heart attack. Get in touch with older family members and ask if heart disease is in the family history. Some people are simply more prone to heart disease based on hereditary factors, age or ethnicity. Risk factors also include health conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity and other factors associated with metabolic syndrome. Lifestyle choices such as smoking, drinking and lack of exercise also increase your chances of having a heart attack.

Know the Symptoms

• Learn the typical symptoms of a heart attack so you can call for help immediately. Common symptoms include tightness and discomfort in the chest region or upper body, shortness of breath, nausea, dizziness and extreme anxiety. Heart attack symptoms in women may vary slightly from those in men. For example, women are more prone to experience heart attacks without chest pain; instead, they often experience discomfort in the neck, jaw, shoulder, abdominal and upper back areas. While these symptoms may appear to be subtle, seek help if they last for a period longer than a few minutes, especially if you have already determined that you are at high risk for a heart attack.

Practice Prevention

• Take steps to reduce your risk for heart disease. Diet and exercise play a large role in heart attack prevention. Try to exercise 30 minutes each day; even light activities such as going for a walk can help. Limit your consumption of dairy products, red meats and fried and baked goods, foods that can raise your cholesterol levels and make you more susceptible to a heart attack. Even if these preventive measures can’t reduce your risk factor to zero, they may lessen the severity of an attack and increase your chances of survival.

Seek Medical Attention

• Know whom to contact in the event of an emergency. Either dial 9-1-1 or have the number of a local medical facility on speed-dial. According to WomensHealth.gov, you have the best chances of survival if you seek treatment within one hour of noticing the symptoms.

  According to the American Heart Association, after the patient gets medical assistance, medical professionals may begin a procedure called thrombolysis, which involves the dissolution of the clot. If this procedure does not take place within three hours of the heart attack, another medical tactic called coronary angioplasty may be used to improve blood circulation in the cardiac region.

Medical Devices and Drugs

• Medical devices such as a left ventricular assist device (LVAD) and medications such as blood thinners may be utilized after the surgery to improve recovery and reduce the risk of future heart complications.

  The AHA recommends taking a daily low dose of aspirin to thin clots that block blood vessels and eventually lead to heart attacks. Overuse of the drug can lead to intestinal bleeding and even ulcers, so talk to your doctor before routinely taking aspirin. Medical services typically administer the drug to those experiencing heart attacks; however, the drug alone will not save your life during an attack.