Your heart is made of muscle. Its most important job is to pump blood to
all parts of your body to provide adequate supplies of oxygen. It also
supplies blood to its own muscle. It does this through a network of very
small pipes called coronary arteries. If one of these becomes partly or
completely blocked, the heart muscle is deprived of oxygen and this causes
a heart attack.
The usual symptoms of a heart attack are a severe crushing chest pain
going into your left arm or jaw, sometimes with breathlessness and
sweating.
Heart attacks are very common. In the UK about 330,000 people have a
heart attack each year. Men are more likely than women to have a heart
attack.
It is important to look at the reasons (risk factors) that caused you to
have a heart attack. The main risk factors are smoking, high blood
pressure, lack of exercise, stress, eating too much fat and being
overweight. Preventing another heart attack will depend on how you and
your doctor can control these risk factors. These were part of your old
lifestyle which must now change.
By changing your lifestyle you will be able to speed up your recovery
and protect your future life. If you smoke you should stop; this will
reduce your chances of having another heart attack.
You will also need to change your dietary habits. You should try to cut
down the amount of fat, red meat, sugar and salt you eat and increase the
amount of foods containing fibre such as fresh fruit, vegetables,
wholemeal bread, pulses (lentils, split peas) and pasta.
You should drink very little alcohol in the first few months after your
heart attack. You do not need to stop drinking completely unless your
doctor advises you to. However, your daily intake of alcohol should not be
more than one or two glasses of wine, a pint of beer, or a single measure
of spirits.
You should also try and avoid stressful situations. Your doctor or nurse
will be able to give you advice about relaxation techniques. Moderate
exercise such as gentle walking and swimming is generally considered safe.
Gradually you will be able to resume a normal sex life and after about
four to six weeks you will be able to start driving as long as your doctor
is satisfied with your progress.
Your doctor will decide on the best treatment to help lower your cholesterol levels and blood pressure, if this is high. You may be prescribed several different medicines, but do not worry, this is not unusual. It is important that you remember to take these medicines exactly as prescribed by your doctor.
You will probably see the specialist at your hospital as an outpatient
about three months after you leave hospital. The specialist may arrange
for you to have an ultrasound scan or x-ray to see if you will need
further treatment.
You will need to see your own GP regularly to check your blood pressure,
monitor your cholesterol level, discuss the medicines that you need and to
discuss lifestyle changes and how long you should stay off work.
After you have returned to work it is likely that you will see your GP
once or twice a year to make sure that you have recovered as much as
possible.
| British Heart Foundation 14 Fitzhardinge Street London W1H 4DH Tel: 0171 935 0185 |
Family Heart Association 7 North Road Maidenhead Berkshire SL6 1PL Tel: 01628 628638 |
This factsheet supported by Bristol-Myers Squibb & Sankyo Pharma UK Ltd