Over one million Americans suffer heart attack every year and from this number comes some 460,000 annual deaths. And 50% of these deaths dies an hour after the start of the symptoms of heart attack and were not able to make it to the hospital. These are evidences enough that proves that coronary heart disease is the leading cause of deaths among Americans.

The heart is continuously pumping nutrient-rich blood and oxygen to be supplied to the blood mainstream. Blood in return is delivered to the heart through the coronary arteries. In heart disease, the walls of the arteries are covered with fatty substances that obstruct the normal flow of blood. These fatty substances or plaques may lead to the accumulation of blood components that stick on the wall linings of the arteries. This is a gradual process and may start at a very early age.

Plaques break up. And with this comes clotting of the blood on the linings to seal the break. This will cause further blockage of the arteries. This cycle of building up of fatty substances, the rapture of the plaque and the clotting of the blood will cause the arteries to narrow which then reduces the blood flow.

Ischemia or the condition of too little blood flow reaching the heart can cause chest pains or angina. Depending on the intensity, chest pains may cause terrible heart pains and may make normal living rather difficult for the coronary heart disease patient. However, there is silent ischema, which has the same symptoms differing only on the absence of pain.

Heart attack occurs when blood supply to the heart is suddenly cut off due to the blockage caused by the clotting of the blood. The cells present in the heart muscles would die once they lack the necessary oxygen-carrying blood. The more prolonged the condition remains, the greater number of cells perishes.

To limit the damages caused by the heart attack, one method employed is the re-opening of the blocked arteries for blood flow restoration. This lessens the frequency of occurrence of heart attack. One popular heart attack treatment is the clot-busting therapy or the thrombolytic therapy. Two of the more often used procedures are the coronary artery bypass surgery and angioplasty. To increase the effectivity of these treatments, procedures must be done an hour or less after the heart attack.

Different from what is ordinarily portrayed in many movie scenes, heart attack is not a sudden chest pain wherein the patient clutches on his chest and accordingly. Heart attack is a gradual process where one may feel mild irritation in the chest cavity at first until eventually, chest pains become more severe.

Chest discomforts vary from one case to another. Patients who have experience heart attacks recently may not be able to identify their personal symptoms, as each may be as different as the previous heart attack. Chest discomforts are normally characterized with uncomfortable squeezing, pressure and pain in the area nearest to the heart. Shortness of breath is also one symptom of heart attack along with nausea and cold sweat in some cases.

As mentioned at the beginning paragraph of this article, not all heart attack patients die due to the attack. If you happen to experience the symptoms associated with heart attack and suspecting yourself to be having clogged arteries, you can help save your own life by acting fastly against the disease. Seek medical care at once and inquire if what precautionary measures you may undergo.