Beware of Heart Attack (Heart Attack)

Recently, Indonesia has held elections to elect the President, Vice President, Legislative Candidates who will serve to replace the previous period. When an election is held, many election officers are deployed so that the election can run well, orderly, smoothly and fairly. However, the process from election preparation to vote counting took a long time, so many election officials, including KPPS officers, fell ill and even died. One of the causes of officer death is fatigue and heart attacks.

One of the highest causes of death in the world is heart attack. And this disease is often referred to as the silent killer because the symptoms come on suddenly and often occur in severe cases. The causes of heart attacks are often ignored because they are considered a habit that is difficult to break.

A heart attack (myocardial infarction) occurs when the arteries that supply blood and oxygen to the heart are blocked. Fatty deposits containing cholesterol accumulate over time and form plaque in the heart arteries. If the plaque ruptures, a blood clot can form. These clots can block arteries, causing a heart attack. During a heart attack, lack of blood flow can cause the tissue in the heart muscle to die.

One of the causes of heart attacks is an unhealthy lifestyle and bad habits that are carried out every day. It is necessary to know the risk factors that can trigger a heart attack so that it can be prevented and treated as early as possible, including:

1. Age factor
2. There is a history of heart disease in the family
3. Overweight (obesity)
4. Unhealthy lifestyles such as unhealthy eating patterns such as high fat, salt, sugar, smoking, drinking alcoholic beverages, lack of exercise
5. Have hypertension, cholesterol, diabetes
6. Stress

Heart Attack Symptoms

Symptoms of a heart attack vary. There are those who have mild to severe symptoms, but there are also people who have no symptoms. Common symptoms of a heart attack include:

• Chest pain that may feel like pressure, tightness, pain, squeezing or aching
• Pain or discomfort that spreads to the shoulders, arms, back, neck, jaw, teeth, or sometimes the upper abdomen
• A cold sweat
• Fatigue
• Stomach ulcers or indigestion
• Lightheadedness or sudden dizziness
• Nauseous
• Hard to breathe

Some heart attacks can strike suddenly. However, there are also those who have had initial symptoms several hours, days or weeks before. Pain or pressure in the chest (angina) that persists and does not go away after rest may be an early warning sign. Angina is caused by a temporary decrease in blood flow to the heart.

If symptoms only appear occasionally, then what needs to be done includes:

• Consult with a heart specialist and carry out an ECG/heart record examination
• Echocardiography Examination (Heart Ultrasound)
• Training/Treadmill Test Inspection
• If necessary, coronary angiography is performed with a cardiac CT scan and/or cardiac catheterization. Cardiac catheterization to see and assess the heart or coronary blood vessels for narrowing or blockages. If there is a narrowing or blockage, it can be continued with intervention or action to open the narrowing or blockage with a balloon, and to prevent re-narrowing, a Stent or Ring can be installed.

Heart Attack Prevention

Before it's too late, there are several things you can do to prevent a heart attack. One way is to keep your heart healthy by doing the following things:

1. Avoid smoking and tobacco use
2. Be physically active every day
3. Eat healthy food
4. Maintain ideal body weight
5. Maintain stable/normal blood pressure
6. Maintain normal cholesterol levels
7. Maintain normal blood sugar levels

Eating healthy foods is very important to maintain heart health. A healthy diet that can be done is to eat more healthy foods such as fruit and vegetables; wheat; nuts; fish (especially fish with omega-3 fatty acids); skinless poultry; fat-free and low-fat dairy products.

Apart from eating healthy food, you also need to do physical activity every day. Physical activity is any activity that makes you move your body and burn calories. One of the physical activities that is usually done is exercise.

The advantages of doing regular exercise are:

• Reduced risk of cardiovascular (heart) disease, high blood pressure and stroke
• Reduced risk of lower digestive and breast cancer
• Decreased risk of diabetes
• Decreased risk of osteoporosis
• Decreased risk of depression and dementia
• Decreased body fat
• Improved joint and muscle movement
• Improved oxygen transport to the body
• Improved body endurance

By exercising regularly and maintaining a healthy diet, you will maintain an ideal body weight. And what is also very important to do is handle stress due to daily activities. Handle stress by talking positively, doing hobbies or things you like, exercising and praying.

If you experience symptoms of heart disease, immediately consult a doctor to get fast and appropriate treatment.