The cardiologist explains to us exactly what it feels like in the event of a heart attack. You have to call 15.
We talk about “heart attack” but in medicine “the correct term is myocardial infarction” immediately restores Dr Clément Dezou, clement, cardiologist at the Bordeaux Nord Polyclinic. “Myocardial infarction deprives the heart muscle of oxygen, which can lead to damage or death of heart tissue if the blockage is not promptly treated.” The main cause is atherosclerotic plaque. “It forms little by little in the arterial wall, in particular because of cholesterol. And when this atherosclerotic plaque ruptures, it causes a cascade of platelet inflammation, leading to occlusion of the coronary artery and preventing heart cells to be supplied with oxygen”continues the doctor. “The cells die, we speak of myocardial necrosis, there will always be after-effects at the cardiac level.”
In case of myocardial infarction, “the main sign is chest pain which is bar-like, persists for 15-20 minutes, does not subside, especially with the use of spray vasodilators and can radiate into the jaw and arms, explains the cardiologist. This is precisely what patients feel.” In some cases, there may be atypical symptoms. “It most often affects the elderly and women. It can be pain in the stomach, it can be pain in the jaw, pain in the right arm or left arm, it can be also fatigue or nausea.”
Elderly people, who often have cognitive disorders, may have signs of confusion in the event of a heart attack, that is to say they are lost in time and space. “Finally, there are certain cases where myocardial infarction can go unnoticed, that is to say that the patients do not have symptoms and we discover afterwards by doing an electrocardiogram where the diagnosis has already been made.” “If we see a person with chest pain that persists for more than 20 minutes, which is intense with potentially radiation, we call 15!”insists the doctor. “Afterwards, with new artificial intelligence technologies and connected cell phones, it is possible to carry out an electrocardiogram yourself which will be analyzed and allow an immediate diagnosis without waiting for the SAMU.”
The consequences of a heart attack vary depending on the person, “They can include anxiety, depression, vulnerability, even denial sometimes” explains the cardiologist. Having reduced physical performance can have psychological repercussions. “In men, for example, the implementation of treatments can have consequences on their sexual life, with erectile dysfunction, leading to psychological symptoms which again vary depending on the patient.” We can also find somatic damage, that is to say that at the slightest little chest pain, the patient can have great concern even though this pain is not alarming.