|
What causes a heart attack!!
|
Imagine, you have access to reach a living-healthy-heart. You are seeing the dancing heart – beating with a wonderful rhythm that is pumping blood all through the body from brain to toes.
Imagine, you are able to identify those tortuous tubes embedded in the walls of heart, branching profusely. These are three in number (major ones) and are named as coronary arteries.
Coronary arteries are the life-line of the heart and supply necessary fuel (glucose and oxygen) to the heart muscles. These nutrients and oxygen reach the heart dissolved in the blood. Any thing that blocks the blood supply for more then few moments - threatens the survival of heart muscle, deprived of its life-supply.
We are exploring - what causes a heart attack ? …..Right?
Now that you have identified those life-supply-lines of the heart – coronary arteries – just imagine that you are going to
1. Place a tiny ball inside one of the supply line – big enough to totally block it.
and
2. Pinch one of the coronary artery between your thumb and a finger!!
Done? Good.
What do you think is going to happen in either case?
You got it right! By putting a ball or by pinching a coronary artery – you have stopped the blood supply. Part of heart muscle that is dependent on this coronary artery for its quota of oxygen and glucose plus other nutrient is in danger of suffering a permanent damage.
Yes, it is that simple! Block the blood supply and the heart muscle perishes. This is heart attack . Also known as myocardial infarction. So now, you know technically what causes a heart attack. But this technical answer is not going to empower you.
This was a model so that you can understand it. Naturally, it doesn’t happen like that. You don’t have access to those coronaries and you can’t approach it like this and put a ball inside or pinch it! You can’t.
But, you can influence your coronaries very powerfully either to create those blocks or to remove those blocks from day to day. We will come to that later at other places.
For the moment we are exploring the question – what causes the heart attack - naturally. Now we can substitute this question with another - more effective one – what causes the block in the blood supply to heart muscle? What are the natural substitutes of your experimental adventures – fixing a snugly fitting ball of pinching the coronary artery? ……Right?
Ok, let us delve further into this critical issue….
What causes the heart attack?
1. The block may develop inside the artery
… equivalent of fixing a ball in the coronary!
This block is often made up of infamous cholesterol, triglycerides, LDL and calcium.
This block, also known as plaque, fills the space meant for blood flow. But often this does not cause the complete block. At this stage, heart receives less blood flow – especially when its need is more e.g. during physical exertion like running, jogging or during intense emotional conditions like a surge of passion, anger, surprise etc.
During such conditions of heightened activity – when heart is not getting sufficient blood – it protests. You can feel pain due to this protest of the heart. Heart is telling you that its need is not being fulfilled. This pain is known as angina.
But angina is still one step short of heart attack. Heart attack occurs when the block is total. And there is total shut down of the blood supply.
What happens actually -- that due to some cause (high blood pressure, some injury to the inside of artery lining etc) the cover of the cholesterol plaque ruptures and bleeds inside the artery. This blood is going to clot – just like bleeding from any other wound stops by clotting. This is like the proverbial final straw. And the result is often critical.
There is going to be a total blockage of the blood supply. Plaque plus clotted blood will block the inside of the artery - totally. Heart attack is caused.
2. Sudden spasm of artery
equivalent of pinching the coronary between your thumb and fingers.
Due to some intense emotional reason like a fit of passion or anger or surprise or … exposure to very cold weather, the wall of artery suddenly snaps and closes upon itself. Like a balloon suddenly collapses and all air is thrown out. In case of arterial spasm it is the blood flow which is blocked. The result is heart attack. This is lesser discussed cause of heart attack. Most attention is devoted to cholesterol plaques as discussed above.
But the critical thing to understand is that if you are given to knee jerk emotional responses – one explosive episode is enough to write a history.
So, if you are serious to prevent or reverse heart disease – work on preventing and reversing the block. At the same time, work on psychological issues to smoothen the sharp, abrupt emotional edges.
In both the cases, you will need to transform your life in a major way. Dietary habits, physical exercise, smoking, stress, relationship and matters like loneliness, unresolved anger, and other unresolved personal and inter-personal issues are the areas to work upon.
It may seem like a daunting, overwhelming task. But it is worth it. The harvest is bountiful. Health, happiness and fulfillment are the fruits of this personal-transformation-farming. And, trust me it is doable, practical. Resolve to do it.
Here, you will get all the help you need.
Shift the question from ‘what causes a heart attack’ to ‘what reverses the heart disease’.
Change in the focus will give you the launching pad to bring balance to your life. Click Here to BEGIN.
From what causes a heart attack
Go To
Refuse-a-heart-attack.
