Most people do whatever they can to avoid cancer, but they don’t realize there is a more dangerous killer waiting for them right behind the corner. Did you know that cardiovascular disease is the number one problem in the world? It uses our lifestyle to secretly backstab us at the worst possible moment. It is never too late to start caring about your heart, and there is one great way to do so — start with knowing it better. 5 facts could be surprising to many of us.
Heart attack without a chest pain
Do not think there is no chance you will ever have a heart attack — even without chest pain, it is still possible. It is one of the classic symptoms to feel heaviness or tightness in the chest, but not a necessary one. Do not forget about fatigue, sweating, nausea, palpitations, neck or arm pain, and shortness of breath. You can literally have no symptoms. Having an attack like that is called having a silent heart attack and is common among people with diabetes, but not only them.
*People think a heart attack should be pain on the left side of the chest, but it is most often not a sharp pain, but rather discomfort felt in the center of the chest with a squeezing or tightness. *Cleveland Clinic Cardiologist, Curtis Rimmerman, MD
70% of people with unrecognized heart disease who died of sudden cardiac death showed previous scarring on their hearts.
Colds are dangerous to your heart
You probably know that blocked arteries and leaky heart valves can be problematic for your heart, but there is something most of us forget about, and those are colds. They can weaken a strong and healthy heart. It is mostly temporary, and everything will come back to normal right after the cold finishes. Weakening the heart by the common flu is called viral cardiomyopathy and is not surprising. Same as weakening a heart by excessive alcohol intake or chemotherapy.
Aspirin is a lifesaver of your heart
There is more to taking aspirin than just getting rid of the pain. It is not only a pain reliever but also, what is critical for your heart has another effect. It prevents clotting by thinning the blood. That is great for more than one reason, but the main one is that you are less likely to have a heart attack when your blood isn’t clotting. It is important to remember that and using it to prevent attacks could save your life. However, remember — stick to the minimum daily dose (75–81 milligrams), as taking more could do more harm than good. You can read more about it here.
Heart disease is the leading killer of women
There is more of Casanova in Heart disease, specifically coronary heart disease, than you would expect. It likes women much more than men and hits one in four women, bringing them to their death. In 2009, over 292,000 women died because of it. That means trying to prevent heart disease should be at the top of every woman’s health-related to-do list.
Coronary heart disease kills one in four women.
Do not be fooled by the public awareness and attention around other health conditions, like breast cancer, as those are less dangerous. You can find more about the symptoms here.
Stress can literally break your heart
There is more to stress and emotions killing you than you could expect. These feelings could release hormones and in specific situations cause paralyze of large parts of the heart. It happens mostly to post-menopausal women and is called takotsubo’s cardiomyopathy, or — what is much more catchy — broken heart syndrome. Fortunately, that is not always permanent and often, the heart can be saved after taking supportive measures.
