par Rino Gallo
Whether you are a man or a woman, you are not immune to having a heart attack. Max tells you more!
Cardiovascular diseases, and particularly myocardial infarction, remain today the first cause of mortality and morbidity in Belgium. Each year, there are approximately 15,000 cases of heart attack, of which almost half are fatal (49% in men, 55% in women). Concretely, a heart attack takes place when the circulation of blood in the arteries of the heart (the coronary arteries) is suddenly greatly reduced or completely blocked. The risk also increases with age. At the time of a first heart attack, 3 out of 4 men are over 55 years old.
But what are the warning signs? In men, it is chest tightness (behind the sternum) that can radiate to the shoulders, arms and jaw, accompanied by sweating, feeling unwell, sudden fatigue, shortness of breath, heart palpitations, and sometimes anxiety. In women, the signs may be identical, but in one out of two cases they are rather atypical, and can lead to a delay in management: back pain then tightness in the chest, severe fatigue (asthenia), sleep disorders and or mood, difficulty in breathing and shortness of breath, digestive disorders.
People who are more at risk of having a heart attack are those who smoke, who move little, who have coronary artery disease (angina pectoris), who have too high blood pressure, who have too much sugar in their blood or diabetes mellitus, who have too much fat or cholesterol in the blood, who are overweight (overweight or obese), who have a close relative with cardiovascular disease, who drink a lot of alcohol too high.
At the slightest suspicion of a heart attack, call 112, the European emergency number