Why after a heart attack? Life expectancy after a heart attack. Life after a heart attack

Many patients who have had a heart attack, as well as their relatives, ask the doctor the question: how many years can one realistically live after such an attack? But it’s difficult to give an exact answer; there are many reasons for this. The first and most important aspect is age. Old people are less likely to survive up to 10 years after a heart attack, because it is often accompanied by other diseases. For young people, the chances are more encouraging. There are other important points that should also be taken into account.

After an attack, the most difficult and significant in terms of life expectancy are the first month and a year later.

What determines life expectancy?

Aspect two, which is directly related to the length of years – kinds . They are divided into early and late. If the lesion is small, then there will be fewer complications.

Early consequences:

Pulmonary edema.
Heart rhythm failure.
Acute heart failure.
Thrombosis.

Most often, the disease affects the left ventricle of the heart, which is why failure occurs in this department. Its characteristic symptom is breathing problems. Forms of heart rhythm disturbances are also dangerous. Doctors say that long-term complications are not as dangerous to health as acute ones, but they appear much more often.

Late complications:

Cardiosclerosis.
Pleurisy.

Cardiosclerosis is a characteristic disease for all heart patients, and directly affects life expectancy after an attack. This condition is associated with how quickly the cardiac scar heals; in the diffuse form, deviations in the activity of the heart muscle begin.

A separate list includes complications during the death of heart cells:

Thromboembolism.
Thromboendocarditis.
Rupture of one of the ventricles.

So, the maximum opportunity to live after a heart attack for a long number of years remains for patients whose health is not complicated by other diseases and unpleasant consequences. If you follow the recommendations during recovery, it is quite possible to significantly reduce the risk.

A procedure such as stenting, when the walls of the arteries are cleared of atherosclerotic plaques, also prolongs the life of heart attack patients. The blood flow is restored, the heart continues to work without overstrain.

If the patient copes with an attack at 60-80 years of age, the mortality rate in the first year after the attack is 35%.

How long do they live depending on the type of heart attack?

The first recommendations of doctors are to protect the patient from severe stress. Fear, joy, fright - any shock can become fatal for the body, even with positive prognosis. If such nervous shocks have happened often in the past, and promise to happen in the future, it is problematic to talk about the patient’s long life expectancy. But in their assessments, doctors also take into account the forms of the disease.

After a micro-infarction

Most often it occurs in men, starting from the age of 30, women last longer. In addition, they rarely pay attention to the symptoms of the disease, attributing it to general malaise or fatigue. Meanwhile, the consequences are no less dangerous, since the next stage may be a heart attack.

Characteristic features:

pain behind the sternum, radiating to left hand;
, feeling of lack of air;
heart rhythm disturbances.

With proper treatment, it is possible to recover and live for more than one year. The patient does not feel any sharp restrictions after a microinfarction; only strong physical activity and stress are prohibited.

After a heart attack

After a heart attack, recovery is much more problematic, because part of the heart tissue dies. When a large part of the organ suffers, it affects general condition sick. According to statistics, the process of destruction in most heart attack patients is observed in the right ventricle. If necrosis covers up to 10 cm in width, blood flow in the coronary artery is severely impaired.

The statistics of life after a heart attack are very sad. Only if the assistance was provided competently and at a high level, we can talk about good chances. If a person lives for 10 years after an attack, then his life expectancy is equal to that of a healthy person.

Studies have proven that if a patient survives a month after the first attack, the chances of surviving another year are 85%, the probability of up to 5 years is estimated at 70%.

The second attack is much more dangerous, most often occurring in sufferers. This disease is detected in all heart attack patients and is often accompanied by asthma and heart rhythm disturbances. This time the symptoms will be less noticeable, since the affected organ reacts much weaker. In 80% of cases, a repeated heart attack is provoked by atherosclerosis.

Symptoms:

pain radiating to the arm;
severe suffocation;
pressure decreases;
fainting.

It is difficult for doctors to predict whether there will be a relapse or not, since it depends on the general health of the patient and how well he follows his diet and daily routine. A distinction is made between repeated and recurrent infarction. In the first case, a heart attack may occur a couple of months after the first one. In case of relapse, this may happen earlier. Moreover, the survival rate after a second or recurrent heart attack is low.

To avoid such manifestations and live for more than one year, you must try to reduce the amount of bad cholesterol in the blood and on the tongue. medical terms– low density lipoproteins. Drug treatment and traditional methods will help with this.

Extensive myocardial infarction affects all layers of cardiac muscle tissue, epicardium, myocardium, and endocardium.

Risk factors

There are a number of factors that affect how long a person can live after an attack.

In this list:

Nature of the disease. Some people have one large scar on their heart after a heart attack, while others have several small ones.
The appearance of atherosclerotic plaques that block the arteries.
In men cardiovascular diseases provokes a lack of a large amount of estrogen in the blood, which is why heart attacks occur more often in them than in women. But this situation is typical only up to 70 years of age, then the incidence rate is the same.
Diabetes or excess weight, which greatly overloads the heart muscle.
Heavy loads during the recovery process.

How to maximize life after a heart attack?

It is difficult to give an exact figure for how many years people live after a heart attack, since personal, characteristics organism, severity of the disease, heredity.

Helps the body return to normal, live for several years with a competent menu and giving up alcohol and cigarettes. You also need to regularly do special exercises; swimming and walking can help restore recovery. But all physical activity is only on the recommendation of a specialist.

To maximize your life after an attack, you need to avoid stress and other tangible stress.

It is difficult to predict the chances after a heart attack; it all depends on how sensitive a person is to his health. It is very important to undergo diagnostics on time and consult with specialists. If the disease is recognized at an early stage, such a patient has a much greater chance of recovering quickly and without consequences.

29.04.2017

During a heart attack, a section of heart tissue as a result oxygen starvation dies and a scar forms.

There may be several such scars, and a person may learn that he has previously had a heart attack during hospitalization in cardiology due to a new heart attack.

After each heart attack, a scar is formed, which can impair the contraction of the heart muscle. Blood will circulate through organs and systems not in the same volume and rhythm, but with disturbances. Why can't the heart muscles contract like they used to?

Because the formed scar blocks electrical impulse, forcing the heart muscle to work. Due to this blockage, rhythmic contractions occur, gradually leading to heart failure.

A person cannot avoid the consequences of necrosis; the functionality of the heart will be limited by the size of the affected area. After a heart attack, some organs will not receive enough blood and nutrients in it.

Popular causes of heart attack

One of the main reasons that often undermines man's health, began smoking. When smoking cigarettes, the lungs receive microtraumas, resulting in the formation of blood clots. Particles of lung tissue break off and move through the bloodstream into coronary arteries heart, where they can clog the lumen and provoke a heart attack.

Another reason that causes damage to the heart muscle is overeating, abuse of fatty and high-calorie foods with high cholesterol content. Cholesterol plaques form on the walls of blood vessels, which narrows the lumen of blood vessels and slows down blood circulation, which in the long term can lead to the formation of blood clots and heart attack.

Physical inactivity due to a sedentary lifestyle is a significant factor due to which many people are hospitalized every year with heart disease. By ignoring the need for physical activity, a person spends little energy and consumes a lot of calories.

As a result, the body becomes overgrown with fat and the muscles weaken. Why is this scenario dangerous? The fact that its consequences are manifested in insufficient blood supply to various parts of the body, to the point that some arteries die and the circulatory system degrades. This can lead to blockage of the heart arteries.

Other causes of heart attack and its consequences are: diabetes, alcoholism, overexertion due to arrhythmia, kidney pathology. Each of these factors can by itself cause pathology of the heart muscle or in combination with other reasons.

Therefore, it is important to consult a doctor on time. How long and well one can live is related to how a person organizes his life, what he does to improve its quality, and what measures he takes to prevent various diseases.

How lifestyle changes

The fact that the consequences of a heart attack in men and women are inevitable is not a reason to give up on oneself, considering oneself inferior. Over time, you can recover, it all depends on the age at which the microinfarction occurred in men and how large the area is affected.

The only thing is that a person will have to remember about the disease and change his lifestyle, many habits, taking into account the new characteristics of the body. In particular, bad habits are out of the question.

The doctor will prescribe medications that need to be taken to prevent relapse and compensate Negative consequences heart attack. A scar forms in place of the heart tissue where blood did not flow.

With small scar sizes, instead of dead cardiac muscle tissue, neighboring cardiomyocytes will work, and then the organ will work in full force. But if a person has a large scar on his heart, then he is likely to develop arrhythmia in the future.

Initially, a person who has suffered from heart disease is interested in how the world in which he lives will change, or more precisely, his role in this world. In particular, active patients are interested in predictions about the timing of return to work.

The recovery period lasts from 2 weeks to several months, depending on the patient’s age, concomitant diseases, and the severity of the heart attack. Making a prognosis for myocardial infarction regarding work activity, the doctor examines the activity itself.

If it is associated with heavy physical labor, you will have to give it up for a while or forever, otherwise your life expectancy after a heart attack will be short. The law provides recommendations for employers to find suitable employment for employees during the recovery period after such a serious illness.

How does health change after a heart attack?

Doctors know that the consequences of myocardial infarction can manifest themselves at a physiological and psychological level. Angina pectoris may be a concern - this is a reason to consult a doctor.

It is important to notify your doctor about your condition if such attacks of angina occur frequently, not only during physical activity, but also at rest. Seriously speaking, the consequences of a myocardial infarction may indicate an impending second heart attack. The new attack will be more severe than the previous one.

Often life after a heart attack is complicated by the presence of negative emotions, ranging from bad mood to depression and fear of death. Often deterioration emotional state occurs against a background of increased aggression. Anger indicates the presence of fear caused by discomfort in the sternum and the risk of facing a relapse of the disease.

If you constantly think about myocardial infarction, the consequences cannot be positive, since the person does not feel like a full-fledged part of society, but is waiting for death. Such isolation does not bode well; it is fraught with isolation from the world, disruption of the usual way of life, and a surge of negative emotions.

It is not necessary to try to treat psychological trauma on your own. It is better to consult your doctor or psychologist, who will tell you that life after a myocardial infarction is not as scary as disability due to the loss of a limb, tumor, etc.

Prevention of recurrent heart attack

As soon as the recovery period allows you to return to normal life, you need to think about how to prevent a possible relapse of the disease. It is more convenient to start from the reasons that provoked the attack and all the consequences of a microinfarction. E If the provoking factor was smoking a pack of cigarettes every day, it is logical to get rid of thoughts about smoking once and for all. If this is not done, there is a huge risk that you will soon have to ask your doctor how long they live after a second heart attack.

Many men, who experience heart attacks more often than women, “sin” by smoking, overeating, physical inactivity and unhealthy culinary preferences. It's hard to give up everyone bad habits and completely rebuild your lifestyle, but if you don’t want a heart attack in men to cause consequences in the form of paralysis, unclear speech, shortness of breath and the inability to be physically active, then it’s time to set priorities and choose what is more important.

You won’t be able to immediately become a runner from being a couch potato, and it’s not necessary. Instead of lying on the couch for an hour, it’s enough to take time for a walk or ride a bike. Instead of tasting strong alcoholic drinks, you can get carried away by tasting different varieties of green tea. You can ask your doctor if you can go to the gym.

It is better to start with exercise therapy so that, under the supervision of a trainer, you can perform those exercises that will be appropriate in terms of load. As for nutrition, vegetables and fruits should predominate in the diet, and fats, salt and sugar should be minimized. The listed measures will not only reduce the risk of a second heart attack, but will have a beneficial effect on your overall health.

Considering the question of why a heart attack is dangerous in women and men, there are practically no differences. It is more difficult for the stronger sex to subsequently give up serious physical activity, since for many this is the main activity. Regarding the stress on the heart during intimate relationships, this will be difficult for men - since they are the ones who usually play the dominant role.

Sexual relationships are a burden on circulatory system, a surge of emotions and excitement. Here a man needs to assess his physical readiness by comparing his state of health before and after a heart attack. If the activity is equal to what it was before, then you can not deny yourself active intimate relationships.

This concerns the physical aspect. As for the psycho-emotional stress, at first you don’t have to resort to stimulants in the form of erotic underwear, videos, pills, etc. Let the body gradually increase its power, returning to its former activity. There is no need to rush. If you behave correctly after an illness such as myocardial infarction, the prognosis is favorable.

How to live after a heart attack

After an illness such as a microinfarction, the consequences can be minimized if you adhere to the golden mean in the matter of work and rest.

Heavy work should be avoided, since it causes increased contractions of the heart muscle, and the scar on the heart is still weak and can be damaged due to excessive stress. To prevent a repeat attack, the doctor will advise which exercise regimen is preferable, how to eat and what to do for the first time after the illness.

The diet should contain foods that help lower blood pressure and normalize blood circulation in the body. It is necessary to minimize the amount of animal fats in the diet, since they become a source of cholesterol that is harmful to blood vessels.

Fatty meat, fish, lard and sour cream will be “deposited” on the walls of blood vessels as cholesterol plaques, provoking a heart attack. Salty and spicy seasonings are also useless, as are alcoholic drinks. This does not bring any health benefits, only harm. Vegetables, lean fish, fruits, low fat dairy products, cereals are the basis of a healthy diet.

Need to be taken regularly preventive examination, take blood and urine tests, undergo an ECG, ultrasound as prescribed by a doctor. At first, life after a heart attack is associated with the prevention of complications. You can find out how well the recovery is going by the absence of signs of heart failure (no pain in the sternum), normal level blood sugar and cholesterol, blood pressure stability. If the listed indicators are close to normal, then the risk of another heart attack is minimized.

How long you can live after a heart attack depends on the patient himself, and this is confirmed by numerous cases in medical practice. Patients who follow doctors' recommendations were able to recover physically and psychologically. Every doctor's advice must be taken into account.

Such thoughtful activity as physiotherapy, can be harmful if you do not measure your heart rate after exercise. In addition to exercise, walking is a must. A simple walk near home can do more than any gymnastics. The role of diet should not be underestimated; a person’s weight should be within normal limits, no matter what they say about it in the media.

A doctor will help you calculate your optimal body weight; you can contact him not only if there is a pathology, but in order to prevent its occurrence. Those who treat their body with respect and attention manage to avoid many diseases, and in case of illness, recover faster and return to normal life.

Modern patients are quite literate and in the vast majority of cases strive to cooperate with a doctor, this is especially true after suffering life-threatening conditions. Patients who take their health carelessly, after suffering a heart attack or stroke, often reconsider their lifestyle, diet, and eradicate some not very good habits in order to prevent the recurrence of acute cardiovascular pathology.

Rehabilitation after myocardial infarction is a very important set of measures that prevent extreme situations and are aimed at organizing proper nutrition, regime of activity and rest, sanatorium treatment and drug prevention after discharge from the cardiology hospital. The patient’s interest in this case is very important, since even the most valuable medical recommendations will be ineffective if the person himself does not implement them with understanding, purposefully and responsibly day after day.

Myocardial infarction, which came suddenly

A person lives his life as he knows how and is accustomed to, one considers himself healthy, the other is slowly struggling with angina pectoris. And suddenly, one not-so-wonderful day, acute pain in the heart area stops the usual course of events. “People in white coats”, sirens, hospital walls... At such a moment it is too early to talk about the outcome, each case is special, depending on the degree of damage to the heart muscle, on the complications and consequences that cardiologists, patients and their relatives are so afraid of.

Severe infarction with cardiogenic shock, arrhythmia, pulmonary edema and other complications requires immediate hospitalization, resuscitation measures and a long period of rehabilitation with prevention of all possible consequences heart attack:

Thromboembolism;
Heart failure;
Aneurysm;
Pericarditis.

Some believe that there is a certain number of heart attacks that a person can suffer. Of course, this is not true, since the first heart attack may be so severe that it will be the last. Or small-focal heart attacks, not so formidable at the time of their development, but giving serious long-term consequences. This indicator can be considered individual, but in most cases the third heart attack is the last, so patients, even with previous scars on the heart (accidentally recorded on the ECG), are not recommended to tempt fate.

It is also impossible to answer unequivocally how long people live after a heart attack, because the first one can be fatal. In other cases, a person can live 20 years after an MI full life without disability. All this depends on how the MI affected the hemodynamic system, what complications and consequences there were or were not, and, of course, on what kind of life the patient leads, how he fights the disease, what preventive measures he takes.

First steps after a heart attack: from bed to stairs

To the important aspects complex treatment Myocardial infarction includes rehabilitation, which includes a number of medical and social measures aimed at restoring health and, if possible, ability to work. Early exercise therapy helps a person return to physical activity, but exercise therapy can only be started with the permission of a doctor and depending on the patient’s condition and the degree of myocardial damage:

Moderate severity allows you to start exercising literally within 2-3 days, while severe severity requires waiting a week. Thus, exercise therapy begins already at the hospital stage under the supervision of a physical therapy instructor;
From about 4-5 days the patient can sit on the bed for a while with his legs dangling;
From day 7, if everything goes well, without complications, you can take a few steps near your bed;
After about two weeks, you can walk around the ward if the doctor allows it;
The patient is under constant monitoring and he can go out into the corridor only from the 3rd week of his stay, and if his condition allows, the instructor will help him master several steps of the stairs;
The distance traveled increases gradually and after some time the patient covers a distance of 500-1000 meters, without being left alone. A health care worker or family member is present to monitor the patient's condition, which is assessed by heart rate and blood pressure levels. In order for these indicators to be reliable, half an hour before the walk and half an hour after it, the patient’s blood pressure is measured and an ECG is taken. If deviations indicate deterioration of the patient’s condition, physical activity is reduced.

If everything goes great for a person, he can be transferred for rehabilitation after a myocardial infarction to a suburban specialized cardiological sanatorium, where, under the supervision of specialists, he will engage in physical therapy, take measured walks (5-7 km daily), receive dietary food and take medication. In addition, to strengthen faith in a successful outcome and good prospects for the future, a psychologist or psychotherapist will work with the patient.

This is a classic version of the entire treatment complex: heart attack - hospital - sanatorium - return to work or disability group. However, there are heart attacks that are detected during examination of a person, for example, in the case of a medical examination. Such people also need treatment and rehabilitation, and even more, prevention. Where do these heart attacks come from? To answer this question, it is necessary to digress somewhat from the topic and briefly describe the types of heart attacks that can pass by the hospital and the cardiologist.

There are few symptoms, and the prognosis is “grim”

Asymptomatic and low-symptomatic variants of myocardial infarction, more characteristic of small focal infarction, are a special and rather serious problem. The asymptomatic form is characterized by complete absence pain and other symptoms of any kind, therefore MI is detected later and by chance (on the ECG - a scar on the heart).

Other variants of infarction that have extremely poor nonspecific clinical picture, also often become the reason for a delayed diagnosis. It’s good if those few signs, characteristic of many diseases, alert the patient, and he consults a doctor:

Moderate tachycardia;
Weakness with sweating, expressed in to a greater extent, than usual;
Reduced blood pressure;
A short-term increase in temperature to subfebrile.

In general, the patient may assess his condition as “something is wrong,” but not go to the clinic.

Such forms of MI most often lead to the fact that the patient does not go anywhere, does not receive drug treatment, and the restrictions characteristic of such a pathology do not apply to him. Over time, when an electrocardiogram is taken, a person’s condition will be classified as a heart attack suffered on the legs, which, however, does not go away without complications, although somewhat delayed in time. The consequences of such variants of MI are:

A scar that will disrupt the normal structure of the heart muscle, which will aggravate the course of the pathological process in the event of a second heart attack;
Weakening of the contractile function of the myocardium and, as a result, low blood pressure;
Chronic heart failure;
Possibility of aneurysm formation;
Thromboembolism because the patient did not take special treatment, reducing the formation of blood clots;
Pericarditis.

It should be said that the complications of heart attacks suffered on the legs are more pronounced than those treated in a hospital, since the person did not receive any preventive prescriptions, therefore, as soon as he becomes aware of the disease, a visit to the doctor cannot be postponed. The sooner preventive measures are taken, the fewer consequences of a heart attack the patient will have.

Atypical manifestations of MI make it difficult to diagnose

It is difficult to judge that a person has had or is having a heart attack if there is an atypical course of the disease. For example, it can sometimes be confused with gastrointestinal disorders, which is called abdominal syndrome. Of course, it is not surprising to suspect a pathology of the gastrointestinal tract with the following clinical manifestations:

Intense pain in the epigastric region;
Nausea with vomiting;
Bloating and flatulence.

Even more confusing in such cases are certain painful sensations in the stomach during palpation and muscle tension. abdominal wall, also accompanied by pain.

The cerebral form of myocardial infarction is so disguised as a stroke that even doctors find it difficult to quickly establish a diagnosis, especially since the ECG does not clarify the picture, since it is atypical and gives frequent “false-positive” changes in dynamics. In general, how not to suspect a stroke if its signs are clearly visible:

Headache;
Dizziness;
Mnestic disorders;
Motor and sensory disorders.

Meanwhile, the combination of a heart attack and a stroke at the same time is not a very common occurrence and, most likely, unlikely, but possible. In case of large-focal transmural MI, cerebral circulatory disturbance is often observed as a manifestation of thromboembolic syndrome. Naturally, such options must certainly be taken into account not only during the period of treatment, but also during rehabilitation.

Video: heart attack - how does it happen and is it treated?

Diet is the first point of rehabilitation measures

The patient can see a doctor in any post-infarction period. A detailed examination of people who have had a heart attack reveals that many of them have:

Some degree of obesity;
High cholesterol and lipid disorders;
Arterial hypertension;
Bad habits.

If smoking and drinking alcoholic beverages can somehow be prohibited (or persuaded?) and thus eliminate the negative effect of these factors on the body, then the fight against excess weight, hypercholesterolemia and arterial hypertension is not a matter of one day. However, it has long been noticed and scientifically proven that diet can help in all cases at the same time. Some people force things so much that they try to reduce body weight in the shortest possible time, which will not bring any benefit, and it will be difficult to maintain the result. 3-5 kg per month is the most optimal option, in which the body will slowly but surely enter the new body and get used to it.

There are a great variety of different diets, but they all have general principles constructions, adopting which, you can already achieve significant success:

Reduce calorie intake;
Avoid eating carbohydrates when you are in a bad mood (eating sweets, pastries, cakes - they are so sweet and tasty, it is very undesirable, so it is better not to touch them at all);
Limit consumption of fatty foods of animal origin;
Exclude such favorite additives to main dishes as sauces, savory snacks, spices, which can well stimulate an already normal appetite;
Increase the amount of table salt to 5 g per day and do not exceed this level, even if something turns out to be not so tasty without it;
Drink no more than 1.5 liters of liquid per day;
Organize multiple meals so that the feeling of hunger does not haunt you, and your stomach is full and does not remind you of hunger.

In people who have overweight, the diet after myocardial infarction should be aimed at reducing weight, which will reduce the load on the heart muscle. Here is an approximate one-day diet:

First breakfast: cottage cheese - 100 g, coffee (not strong) without sugar, but with milk - a glass of 200 ml;
Second breakfast: 170 g of fresh cabbage salad dressed with sour cream, preferably without salt or with the minimum amount of it;
Lunch consists of 200 ml of vegetarian cabbage soup, 90 g of boiled lean meat, 50 g of green peas and 100 g of apples;
As an afternoon snack, you can eat 100 g of cottage cheese and wash it down with 180 ml of rosehip decoction;
It is recommended to limit evening meals to boiled fish (100 g) with vegetable stew (125 g);
At night you are allowed to drink 180 g of kefir and eat 150 g of rye bread.

This diet contains 1800 kcal. Of course, this is an approximate menu for one day, so nutrition after a heart attack is not limited to only the listed products, but for patients with normal weight, the diet is significantly expanded. The diet after myocardial infarction, although it limits the consumption of fats (animal) and carbohydrates (unrefined and refined), excludes them only under certain circumstances in order to give a person the opportunity to lose excess weight.

With patients who are not overweight, everything is simpler; they are given a diet with a daily calorie content of 2500-3000 kcal. The consumption of fats (animal) and carbohydrates (unrefined and refined) is limited. Daily ration divided into 4-5 techniques. In addition, the patient is recommended to undergo fasting days. For example, on some day eat 1.5 kg of apples and nothing else. Or 2 kg of fresh cucumbers. If someone cannot live a day without meat, then 600 g of lean meat with a vegetable side dish ( fresh cabbage, green pea) will also work on a fasting day.

The expansion of the diet should also not be taken literally: if after a heart attack you can eat vegetables and fruits, lean meat and dairy products, in general, without restrictions, then it is not at all recommended to eat sweet confectionery, fatty sausages, smoked meats, fried and spicy foods.

Alcohol, be it Armenian cognac or French wine, is not recommended for patients who have had a heart attack. We must not forget that any alcoholic drink causes an increase in heart rate (and therefore tachycardia), and, in addition, increases appetite, which is of no use to convalescent, because this is an additional load, albeit a food one.

After discharge - to the sanatorium

The set of rehabilitation measures depends on which functional class (1, 2, 3, 4) the patient is assigned to, so the approach and methods will be different.

After discharge from the hospital, the patient, assigned to functional class 1 or 2, calls a cardiologist to his home the next day, who draws up a plan for further rehabilitation measures. As a rule, the patient is assigned a 4-week observation by medical staff in a cardiological sanatorium, where the patient himself does not need to worry about anything, he will only be required to follow an approved program, which, in addition to diet therapy, includes:

Dosed physical activity;
Psychotherapeutic assistance;
Drug treatment.

Physical rehabilitation programs are based on a classification that includes the following categories:

The severity of the patient's condition;
Severity of coronary insufficiency;
The presence of complications, consequences and associated syndromes and diseases;
The nature of the infarction (transmural or non-transmural).

After determining individual tolerance to stress (bicycle ergometer test), the patient receives optimal doses of physical training aimed at increasing the functionality of the myocardium and improving the nutrition of the heart muscle by stimulating metabolic processes in its cells.

Contraindications to prescribing training are:

Cardiac aneurysm;
Severe heart failure;
Types of arrhythmias that respond to physical activity by worsening rhythm disturbances.

Physical training is carried out under the supervision of a specialist, they are aimed at preventing a recurrent heart attack, increasing life expectancy, but at the same time, they cannot prevent the onset of sudden death in the distant future.

In addition to dosed loads, physical rehabilitation after a heart attack, it also includes methods such as physical therapy (gymnastics), massage, health path (metered walking).

However, when talking about the patient’s training, it should be noted that they do not always go smoothly. IN recovery period the doctor and the patient may encounter certain symptom complexes characteristic of convalescents:

Cardiopain syndrome, to which are added cardialgia caused by osteochondrosis thoracic spine;
Signs of heart failure, manifested by tachycardia, enlarged heart size, shortness of breath, moist rales, hepatomegaly;
Syndrome of general detraining of the patient’s body (weakness, pain in lower limbs when walking, decreased muscle strength, dizziness);
Neurotic disorders, since patients, asking the question “How to live after a myocardial infarction?”, tend to fall into anxious and depressive states, begin to fear for their family and mistake any pain for a second heart attack. Of course, such patients need the help of a psychotherapist.

In addition, convalescents receive anticoagulant therapy to prevent the formation of blood clots, statins to normalize the lipid spectrum, antiarrhythmic drugs and other symptomatic treatment.

Rehabilitation at a local clinic

Such rehabilitation is indicated only for patients with grades 1 and 2 after a 4-week stay in a sanatorium. The patient is thoroughly examined, which is recorded in his outpatient card; his success in physical training, level of performance (physical), and response to drug treatment are also recorded there. In accordance with these indicators, convalescent is prescribed individual program increasing physical activity, psychological rehabilitation and drug treatment which includes:

Therapeutic gymnastics under the control of pulse and electrocardiogram, carried out in the exercise therapy room 3 times a week in 4 modes (gentle, gentle-training, training, intensive-training);
Individually selected drug therapy;
Sessions with a psychotherapist;
Fight against bad habits and other risk factors (obesity, arterial hypertension and etc.).

The patient does not leave daily exercise at home (hiking, preferably with a pedometer, gymnastics), but does not forget about self-control and alternates exercise with rest.

Video: Exercise therapy after a heart attack

Increased medical control group

As for patients classified as functional classes 3 and 4, their rehabilitation follows a different program, the purpose of which is to ensure such a level of physical activity that the patient can independently care for himself and do a small amount of housework, however, if qualified, the patient will not limited in intellectual work at home.

Such patients are at home, but under the supervision of a therapist and cardiologist; all rehabilitation measures are also carried out at home, since the patient’s condition does not allow high physical activity. The patient performs accessible work at home, walks around the apartment from the second week after discharge, and from the third week begins to slowly engage in exercise therapy and walk for 1 hour in the yard. The doctor allows him to climb the stairs at a very slow pace and only within one flight.

If before the illness morning exercises were a habit for the patient, then he is allowed to do it only from the fourth week and only for 10 minutes (less is possible, more is not possible). In addition, the patient is allowed to climb to the 1st floor, but very slowly.

This group of patients requires both self-control and special medical supervision, since at any time with the slightest exertion there is a danger of an attack of angina, increased blood pressure, shortness of breath, severe tachycardia or a strong feeling of fatigue, which is the basis for reducing physical activity.

Complex medicines Patients of functional class 3 and 4 also receive psychological support, massage and exercise therapy at home.

The psyche also needs rehabilitation

A person, having experienced such a shock, cannot forget it for a long time; every now and then he asks himself and other people the question of how to live after a myocardial infarction, believes that now he cannot do anything, and therefore is susceptible to depressive moods. The patient’s fears are completely natural and understandable, so the person needs psychological support and readaptation, although here everything is individual: some people cope with the problem very quickly, adapt to new conditions, while for others, even six months is not enough to accept the changed situation. The goal of psychotherapy is to prevent pathological changes personality and the development of neurosis. Relatives may suspect neurotic maladjustment based on the following signs:

Irritability;
Mood instability (he seemed to calm down, but after a short time he again plunged into dark thoughts);
Inadequate sleep;
Phobias of various kinds (the patient listens to his heart, is afraid of being alone, does not go for a walk unaccompanied).

Hypochondriacal behavior is characterized by “flight into illness.” The patient is sure that life after a heart attack is not life at all, the disease is incurable, that doctors do not notice everything, so he himself, with or without reason, calls an ambulance and demands additional examination and treatment.

A special group of patients consists of not yet old men who were sexually active before the disease. They worry and try to find out whether sex is possible after a heart attack and whether the disease has affected sexual functions, since they notice some disturbances (decreased libido, spontaneous erections, sexual weakness). Of course, constantly thinking about this issue and worrying about your intimate life further aggravates the situation and contributes to the development of hypochondriacal syndrome.

Meanwhile, sex after a heart attack is not only possible, but also necessary, because it gives positive emotions, so if there are problems in this regard, the patient is prescribed additional treatment(psychotherapy, autogenic training, psychopharmacological correction).

To prevent the development of mental disorders and prevent other consequences of a heart attack, special schools have been created for patients and their relatives that teach how to behave after an illness, how to adapt to a new situation and quickly return to work. The statement that labor counts the most important factor There is no doubt about successful mental rehabilitation, so the sooner the patient plunges into work, the faster he will get into his usual rut.

Employment or disability group

Disability group with complete exclusion physical activity patients of classes 3 and 4 will receive, while patients of classes 1 and 2 are recognized as able to work, but with some restrictions (if necessary, they must be transferred to light work). There is a list of professions that are contraindicated after myocardial infarction. Of course, this primarily concerns heavy physical labor, night shifts, daily and 12-hour shifts, work related to psycho-emotional stress or requiring increased attention.

A special medical commission provides assistance in finding employment and resolves all issues, which gets acquainted with the working conditions, studies the availability residual effects and complications, as well as the likelihood of a recurrent heart attack. Naturally, if there are contraindications to a particular job, the patient is employed in accordance with his capabilities or assigned a disability group (depending on the condition).

After a heart attack, the patient is observed in the clinic at the place of residence with a diagnosis of post-infarction cardiosclerosis. He can receive sanatorium treatment (not to be confused with the sanatorium that is prescribed after discharge!) in a year. And it is better if these are resorts with a climate familiar to the patient, since the sun, humidity and atmospheric pressure also affect cardiac activity, but not always positively.

Video: heart attack - effective recovery and prevention of recurrence

Causes of high blood pressure in women: high female blood pressure

High blood pressure is a fairly common disease nowadays, especially in women over 35 years of age.

This disease manifests itself slowly.

Initial symptoms may be:

weakness,
bad dream,
fast fatiguability,
rush of blood to the head and so on.

Such symptoms in women after 35 years of age appear over a fairly long period of time. After which irreversible processes begin to occur in the body. For example, blood circulation in the brain is disrupted, and heart and kidney failure appears.

If treatment for high blood pressure in women is not started on time, there is a risk of a heart attack and even fatal outcome. The body may also completely stop functioning normally.

Since blood pressure increases in women with age, almost every woman over 35 years of age can suffer from this disease.

This disease must be taken seriously even in its initial stages, as it can affect vision and the condition of blood vessels, especially in older age (in women after 50 years).

Women under 35 years of age treat the symptoms of the disease lightly, and therefore begin treatment at the wrong time. Based on research conducted by scientists, it became clear that the risk factor for high blood pressure is observed in 45% of the population.

This number is constantly increasing with each goal. It is also noted that men are several times more susceptible to this ailment. But this does not mean that women over 50 cannot have health complications.

Causes

The main reasons for increased blood pressure are stress and anxiety; pressure from nerves is a completely normal phenomenon. The disease can also develop in those who are genetically predisposed to it. Plays an important role here correct image life and environment.

How more people will expose himself to stress and anxiety, the greater the likelihood that he will develop hypertension.

If you do not pay attention to the symptoms of high blood pressure in time and do not start treatment, after 50 years it will be quite difficult to do this.

This disease can be effectively treated only in the initial stages, after which you will have to take medications to stabilize the body’s condition.

A healthy person can also suffer from symptoms of high blood pressure. This may happen over several months or years. There are different reasons for high blood pressure. Basically this is a nervous and physical overstrain of the body.

After rest, the pressure usually returns to normal. In this case, treatment for high blood pressure may not begin, experts say, because this is a protective reaction of the body. The person’s condition in this case is considered normal and not dangerous to health.

There are two types of high pressure:

Hypertensive disease.
Symptomatic arterial hypertension.

It is noted that at this time experts have not been able to identify the exact causes of the appearance of hypertension among representatives of the fairer sex. Therefore, treatment of high blood pressure in each specific case will be carried out individually.

The reasons for the appearance of high blood pressure in women after 35 may be due to the consumption of fatty acids. They are mainly present in coconut and palm fats, as well as:

In oil,
sour cream,
animal fat

and other similar products. It should also be remembered that such fats are large quantities contained in:

sausages,
cookie,
cheeses,
cakes,
chocolate.

Another reason for the appearance of high blood pressure in women after 35 years is the consumption of salt, after which blood pressure rises. This element is found in many products. It is recommended to give preference to fresh products and not to overuse packaged products.

Salt in large quantities causes not only high blood pressure, but also the destruction of the walls of blood vessels, after which they become less elastic and cease to fully perform their functions.

Treatment after several years of the disease will have to be carried out comprehensively based on medical supplies, which are attributed by the specialist. On early stages diseases can be treated and traditional methods, for example, herbal decoctions.

Another reason for increased blood pressure is overuse alcoholic drinks. Some people believe that alcohol can reduce arterial pressure. In small doses, this product will not affect blood pressure in any way.

But if the amount of alcohol consumed is large, this will cause the heart to work faster, which directly affects the pressure in the arteries.

There may also be other substances in alcohol that will not have the best effect not only on blood pressure, but also on the general condition of the body. In this case, the doctor also prescribes treatment individually, depending on the characteristics of a particular organism.

A sedentary lifestyle as a cause of high blood pressure. Symptoms may appear with this way of life only after a few years.

Treatment in this case is also carried out individually, taking into account certain characteristics of the person, as well as the presence of other chronic diseases.

Initially the patient undergoes comprehensive examination from a doctor, after which he prescribes medications to lower his blood pressure.
It is important to note that treatment with such drugs must be long-term.
It is under no circumstances recommended to interrupt the course on your own.

Stress is also one of the causes of high blood pressure. To protect yourself, you need to try to avoid stressful situations and learn to relax. This will help restore emotional balance to normal.

Smoking also does not contribute to normal blood pressure. When smoking, the blood vessels will constantly be in good shape, which will lead to a loss of elasticity in the walls of the blood vessels.

They will narrow, calcify, and sediment and deposits will begin to appear on the walls. This will lead to increased pressure.

Excess weight is also the cause of symptoms of high blood pressure in women at different ages.

Risk factors

The main factors include:

Excessive alcohol consumption.
Smoking.
Heredity.
Increased body weight.
Occupational exposures (noise, stress, vibration).
Advanced age.
Abuse of salt.
Nervous tension that lasts for a long period of time.

As a result of the impact on the body external factors, a person will experience unpleasant symptoms, among which the most often manifested are:

headache,
blurred vision,
dizziness,
nausea and others.

The rhythm of the heart is also disrupted. The organ may begin to hurt. The person’s temperature will rise, the face will turn red, and the limbs will begin to get cold.

Symptoms and signs of AD

Often a woman may not physically feel that she has high blood pressure. In this regard, doctors call this disease a “silent killer.” This is where the danger of this disease lies.

If a person has such a disease, it can lead to serious consequences and also cause death. There are the following symptoms of high blood pressure in women:

pain in the heart area,
anxiety,
nausea,
headache,
dizziness,
interruptions in heart function.

If these manifestations become systematic, it is recommended to be examined by a doctor, who will be able to identify the disease at its initial stage. Therefore, it is important to regularly visit the clinic to diagnose and check the body and its organs.

If the pressure is above 140 millimeters of mercury, it is considered elevated. In this case, the person may begin to experience discomfort. If such a disease is in the third or second stages, then swelling, shortness of breath, etc. may appear.

Treatment of high blood pressure

Regardless of severity of this disease, it needs to be treated. If this is not done, throughout the course of the disease long time changes will occur in the body and organs that can be dangerous to health and life.

The course of treatment and medications are prescribed by a doctor. He can assess risk factors, select the right medications and prescribe medical measures.

Also, the patient will have to make efforts to improve his well-being.
Namely, he will need to change his lifestyle, start exercising physical exercise and be able to relax after a hard day at work.
Each patient is treated individually depending on the characteristics of the body and the severity of the disease.

Doctors warn that if you have high blood pressure, you should never choose medications to lower it on your own. This should only be done by a specialist.

The patient can only begin to give his body and heart certain stress on his own, spend more time in the fresh air and eat right. You should also try to spend less time on the PC and TV.

If you are overweight, you will need to get rid of it, since such people have a higher risk of hypertension. You need to reduce the amount of salt in your diet, remove sugar, coffee, fast foods and fatty foods. It's worth eating more often fresh vegetables and fruits, herbs, raisins and similar products.

But initially, when the first symptoms appear, you need to see a doctor, who will prescribe treatment. Along with medications, you can also use herbal decoctions. It is advisable that they are also prescribed by a specialist.

Complications

Those women and men who have hypertension are more susceptible to atherosclerosis than others. They may also have a stroke or heart attack more often. Since less blood with useful substances reaches the legs with hypertension, lameness may develop.

But the main load with high blood pressure goes to the heart. It must work hard. After a certain period of time, with age, it will become difficult for the heart to work in this mode, and therefore blood circulation in the body will be disrupted.

This will be accompanied by:

swelling,
shortness of breath,
expectoration.

The brain is also susceptible to the negative effects of the disease. If high pressure If left untreated for a long period of time, hemorrhage may occur in the brain, leading to death.

On initial stage If hypertension is detected in time, treatment can be carried out without the use of medications. You just need to drink herbal decoctions.

If they do not bring the required result, then you will have to use medications. High blood pressure can be corrected and returned to normal with timely intervention from a doctor. Treatment in this case should be combined and complex. Experts will talk about the main reasons for the increase in pressure in the video in this article.

Symptoms and treatment of extensive heart attack

It is generally accepted that extensive myocardial infarction occurs suddenly in completely healthy person, However, this is not quite true. The disease sometimes develops gradually, and if a person does not receive timely medical assistance, the consequences can be disastrous.

What it is?

Acute insufficiency of blood supply to the heart muscle is called myocardial infarction. This condition is accompanied by thrombosis of the coronary artery and necrosis of the muscle tissue of the organ. To better understand what a heart attack is, you need to understand the characteristics of the disease.

When a small area of the heart suffers from poor blood supply, the heart attack is called small-focal. An extensive heart attack is a complete defeat of the muscle tissue of the organ. This condition often ends in severe complications and even death.

The causes of a major heart attack are:

Hypertension.
Angina pectoris.
Atherosclerosis.

If a person ignores treatment, the disease will provoke a heart attack. The risk group includes people over 60 years of age, as well as those with excess body weight, diabetes mellitus, high level cholesterol in the blood and bad habits. Heart attacks are more common among men than among women. Nowadays, cases of heart attacks also occur in people of working age.

Such an insignificant feature as snoring during sleep increases the risk of developing the disease several times. If a person is under constant stress, this can also trigger a heart attack.

Symptoms

Knowledge of the first symptoms of the disease contributes to timely treatment medical care, minimizing consequences and preserving human life. A disease such as a massive heart attack is divided into several stages, and at each of them the patient experiences certain symptoms.

The pre-infarction period lasts from several hours to several weeks. A person feels an exacerbation of angina or an increase in its attacks.
IN the most acute period myocardial ischemia and the formation of an area of tissue death develops. The duration of the period is a maximum of three hours. During this time, the person feels a burning or pressing pain in the heart and compression in the sternum. Unpleasant sensations may spread to the left arm or shoulder. Inexplicable panic and fear - characteristic feature heart attack. If a person has angina in this way, the pain will subside after taking nitroglycerin. The drug will not help with a heart attack. In addition to pain, there is profuse sweating, dizziness and often loss of consciousness. If the back wall of the heart muscle is affected, the person will experience some symptoms of poisoning - nausea, vomiting, sharp pain in the stomach. There are cases when an extensive myocardial infarction has atypical symptoms, for example, sudden pain in the right hand. A heart attack occurs painlessly in diabetics, since their nerve endings react slowly to stimuli.
The acute period lasts up to two weeks. The affected tissue dies and ferments. Tissue necrosis provokes an increase in body temperature, which is why the patient feels a fever. Blood pressure may also increase. Symptoms of heart failure, such as shortness of breath on exertion, are observed. However, after ten days, your health improves, body temperature and pressure gradually return to normal.
Subacute period - the dead area is scarred, and the signs of a heart attack disappear.
In the post-infarction period, the heart adapts to the changes that have occurred. After a myocardial infarction, the patient may experience angina attacks, shortness of breath, and heart rhythm disturbances.

Help

If such symptoms are detected, the person is immediately called ambulance, while clarifying that the patient requires examination by resuscitators or cardiologists. Before the medical team arrives, the patient is reassured, as panic can cause even more harm.

The person takes a comfortable position; it is advisable to place him on a hard horizontal surface. The room where the person having a heart attack is located is thoroughly ventilated. The victim is given a nitroglycerin tablet, and after fifteen minutes, if the pressure readings are not outside the normal range, another one. It is also recommended to slowly chew aspirin, which thins the blood.

If the victim is unconscious, the patient is laid down and his head is thrown back. But if a person shows signs of approaching vomiting, turn their head to the side. In case of cardiac arrest, indirect massage and artificial respiration are performed.

The arriving doctor first stops sharp pain, for this purpose narcotic drugs are used. An electrocardiogram is performed to assess the severity of the condition. If a person enters medical institution in the first hours after the attack, the consequences can be minimized. The patient will immediately be given a drug that will dissolve the blood clot and normalize blood circulation.

When more than six hours pass from the moment of a heart attack and admission to the hospital, the blood clot thickens and cannot be destroyed with medication. The patient takes medications that prevent the formation of blood clots and prevent ischemia. In the first days after an attack, strict bed rest is indicated. All hygiene procedures are performed by medical staff. However, a person can eat on his own.

If the condition has not worsened, approximately on the third day you can get out of bed and walk around a little. Every day the walking distance gradually increases.

If the patient has suffered a heart attack, he may be shown surgery(coronary artery bypass surgery, balloon angioplasty).

lifestyle correction;
physical therapy;
psychological support;
assistance in the selection of medications and vitamin preparations.

For people who have experienced this illness, the doctor prescribes the following medications:

aspirin (prevents the formation of blood clots);
diuretics for heart failure;
nitrates (relieve vasospasm);
angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, which normalize blood pressure and prevent heart failure;
statins, which lower blood cholesterol levels;
beta blockers that improve survival of patients after myocardial infarction.

Consequences

During the first week after an attack, a person may experience the following complications:

acute heart failure (pulmonary edema);
heart block;
recurrent infarction;
heartbreak;
inflammation of the outer lining of the heart (pericarditis);
blood clot formation;
cerebral circulatory disorders.

The patient may also experience dysfunction digestive system and psyche. The latter happens mainly in older people.

Prevention

To protect yourself from a heart attack, you need to get rid of bad habits (smoking, drinking alcohol). It is also important to control body weight and prevent excessive weight gain. It is important to control blood cholesterol levels.

Diabetics should regularly monitor their blood sugar levels and follow a therapeutic diet. If a person snores during their sleep, they should be tested for sleep apnea. For people who have had this heart disease, you need to do everything to prevent a second heart attack, as it has more serious consequences.

The heart and brain are more closely connected than previously thought. The devastating effects of myocardial infarction also affect the brain. In fact, a heart attack causes the death of neurons in the brain stem, which leads to insomnia.

Sleep plays a crucial role in rehabilitation after a heart attack, according to scientists from the University of Montreal.

During the two weeks following myocardial infarction, periods of paradoxical sleep were observed less frequently and did not last long. This phenomenon occurred due to the death of cholinergic neurons that control paradoxical sleep as a result of apoptosis or programmed cell death.

A previous study by Goodbot and Russo's team found that myocardial infarction affected the limbic system, which controls mood. This explains the depression that is often observed after heart attacks. Since depression is often accompanied by insomnia, the scientists wanted to test whether there was damage to neurons in the brain stem.

It turned out that myocardial infarction causes not only depression, but is also associated with the action of factors that generate inflammation of tissues such as the brain, especially in the areas that control sleep and its paradoxical phase. The specific function of this phase activates the areas of the brain responsible for the integration of emotions. This is how the risk of depression increases.

Poor sleep is a known risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Therefore, insomnia can worsen rehabilitation, cause complications, and increase the risk of relapse.

An excellent way to improve sleep are herbal sedatives, consisting of several plants. For example, one of the collections involves three ingredients - oregano, tansy and calendula. Take equal amounts of all dried herbs; for half a liter of water you will need a large spoon of the mixture. The drink is prepared in the usual way - the collection is poured with boiling water, infused and then filtered. Drink half a glass three times a day.

Sometimes, due to anxiety, it is very difficult for a person to fall asleep, in which case another calming herbal mixture will come in handy. St. John's wort, hop cones, chamomile, mint and lemon balm are mixed. A teaspoon of the mixture is brewed in a thermos for two hours, after straining it is ready healthy drink. It is advisable to drink it in three doses before bed. This tea will allow you to relax and fall into a restful sleep.

A good night's sleep will come from a mixture of water trefoil, valerian and peppermint. The herbs should be crushed and mixed, then a spoonful of the mixture is poured with boiling water and infused in a thermos. The drink will be ready to drink in half an hour. You need to strain it and take half a glass before bed. Nervous people It is advisable to drink this tea two or three times a week, it is very calming, but you should not drink it in the morning, as it may cause drowsiness and lethargy.

If you need to relieve nervous tension, soothing herbal teas containing cumin, valerian and pharmaceutical chamomile. The drink prepared in the usual way should be taken in the morning and evening. This will ensure a good mood throughout the day. In order to bring nervous system in order, tea from these herbs is consumed for a month. Then the course is repeated periodically.

The following collection helps perfectly: meadowsweet, hop cones and mint. These herbs are dried, mixed and stored in a linen bag. At bad sleep Brew tea from this mixture and drink it in the evening before bed. If the taste seems too strong, add a little sugar or honey.

After the experience, certain medications are prescribed to support the heart.

Take good medicine

Monitor (keep it at 120/80) and heart rate (60-65 beats per minute at rest). If shortness of breath intensifies and swelling of the feet and legs appears, then increase the dose of diuretics, limit salt intake and do not drink more than one liter of liquid per day.

As for, try to get more tired during the day, do some kind of work if possible, read, listen and watch programs, walk, communicate.

Sleep largely depends on digestion, so dinner should be light and no later than 6-7 pm. Drink a glass of regular warm milk at night. Milk contains tryptophan, which promotes sleep. Helps you fall asleep and chamomile tea.

Be sure to ventilate the room before bedtime.

The following medications can be used to calm you down: tincture, corvalol, grandaxin. Phenazepam has many serious side effects, so it is not recommended to take it frequently.

There are modern medications, having a good hypnotic effect, they are quite safe. Eg, donormil, which does not cause drug addiction. Start treatment with half a tablet; if necessary, the dose can be increased to 2 tablets.

Drugs such as Ivadal, ImovanCannot be taken without a doctor's prescription. These drugs are well tolerated, but nevertheless, the instructions for their use contain a warning about the possible development of drug dependence and the possible effect on breathing function during sleep.