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Mar 2023

Young people facing fatal heart attacks : What do we need to know?

Posted By Suborna Fermi Posted on Mar 10, 2023

Young adults are facing heart attacks these days. Heart attacks are well-known for being deadly. There was a time when aged people used to experience heart attacks. However, nowadays the young ones are facing cardiac arrests. What to blame for these disasters? Is it possible to avoid it? Let’s discuss briefly.

What is a heart attack?

Heart attack is a sudden pause in all heart activities. It causes instant termination of breathing and blood flow. It ends up causing unconsciousness and death. Mostly, the people who faced fatal heart attacks have died during random physical activities.

To be more specific, cardiac arrest may happen suddenly with no warning signs. It is only possible to survive if one can seek medical attention instantly after the cardiac arrest takes place.

Is it possible to stay prepared to face sudden heart attacks?

The young people who had no records of pre-existing heart issues, medical conditions or injuries have also faced deadly cardiac problems. Naturally, most of the time we can’t stay prepared for it because it occurs unpredictably.

Complications like chest pain and shortness of breath may appear at the initial stages. Usually, we don’t consider these complications as the sign of any upcoming threat. Besides, heart attacks may take place absolutely any time in young people. Strokes may take place more likely in athletes but also in people who are not and have never been athletes.

Its occurrence is sudden and unpredictable, so it’s kind of a challenge to stay prepared for heart attacks.

 fatal heart attacks

Is there any particular cause of sudden cardiac arrest in adults?

  • Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is one of the most common causes behind sudden cardiac arrest in young people. In this condition, the muscle cells of the ventricles of the heart thicken. It causes an abnormal rhythm of the heart.
  • Defect in the coronary arteries may be the reason for decreased blood supply in the blood muscles. It may also lead to cardiac arrest.
  • A sudden heart attack may also take place because of undiagnosed genetic conditions like Long QT syndrome.
  • There is a specific condition called arrhythmogenic ventricular dysplasia. In this specific condition, the heart muscle tissues get replaced by the scar tissues.
  • Myocarditis is a condition in which inflammation takes place in the walls of the heart but most of the Myocarditis cases are found among children.

Last but not the least, Marfan syndrome and Commotio Cordis can also sometimes be the reason for sudden heart attacks in young people.

How to avoid sudden cardiac arrest?

It’s necessary to know when to consult doctors. The situation may get out of control once the matter turns severe, so better to take essential medical actions at the beginning stage. Once the symptoms show up, don’t waste a single second anymore and get under the careful guidance of the professional medical experts. Always remember, you don’t have enough time before the disease turns fatal.

When to seek medical attention?

To be more specific, consult a doctor and check for cardiac issues when you are

  • Experiencing chest pain during the sessions of physical workout.
  • Experiencing unexplained abnormality in the heartbeat rhythm or heart rate.
  • Aware of the fact that you have a family history of heart problems.

If you have ever fainted without a single warning during exercise or if you are born with a congenital heart defect, then you must go for a cardiac checkup before the problem takes a bigger shape.

If you wish to prevent heart attacks, then just maintaining heart health, having complete sleep and regular exercise may not be enough for you. Although tests like ECG may show the risk but there remains a risk of false positive report generation, which means, it may show that there are chances of occurring heart attacks when there actually isn’t.

If it is suspected that the person may face a fatal heart attack sooner or later, the medical experts usually suggest the person to avoid competitive sports because that may cause heart attacks.

Sudden occurrence of Heart attacks : Which factors to blame?

Younger people spend so much time with gadgets like smartphones and laptops. It primarily promotes the reduction of physical activities, which affects cardiac health. Ignoring problems like obesity and hypertension can be harmful as those issues have negative effects on cardiac health, which can also end up being life-threatening.

There are factors like unhealthy lifestyle habits like smoking and drinking, huge lack of uninterrupted sleeping hours, stress and hypertension, which affects cardiac health. Besides, there are pre-existing heart problems that most of us still don’t know about.

We can detect the root of these problems and stay away from these factors to maintain heart health, which can keep us away from the chances of sudden heart attacks. The concerning fact is, you can’t totally avoid sudden heart attacks even after keeping distance from all the risk factors.

Can an AED be used if somebody is having a heart attack?

An AED can be extremely useful in such situations to save a life. It is a portable device that is used to save someone from heart attack. The AED or Automated External Defibrillator delivers shocks, which helps to reset the heart.

The more you keep waiting for treatments, the more your chances of staying alive decreases. Seek medical attention immediately as it won’t take much time to turn fatal for anyone. Call if any dedicated medical emergency number in your city exists. Make the call soon after the cardiac attack takes place.

Then carry the person to the nearest medical centre as soon as possible. Artery opening and clot busting medications can stop heart attacks, but it should not be applied without having careful guidance of any medical expert.

Try your best to stay heart-healthy

Well, maintaining heart health is still the first step that we can take from our end. Stay away from unhealthy habits like smoking and drinking. Try your best to reduce stress, though it is a big challenge to stay away from stress for people who live a life full of professional hazards and personal problems. Also, don’t forget to consult doctors if you are having high blood pressure problems or obesity.

Should young adults with heart issues limit physical activities?

The best way to understand this is to have a consultation with a doctor. You should not get involved in hard workout sessions if you have any medical device implanted in the chest for supporting your heart when heartbeat irregularity occurs. If you are professionally involved in any competitive sport, you should probably stop or should not be continuing without the guidance or recommendations of a genuine medical expert.

Don’t be late to consult medical experts and go for necessary tests if you are aware of the fact that you have a family history of heart diseases. At least this way we can try our best to maintain heart health, detect pre-existing heart issues and decrease the potential of facing a heart attack at a younger age.

References

  • https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/sudden-cardiac-arrest/in-depth/sudden-death/art-20047571
  • https://www.healthychildren.org/English/health-issues/injuries-emergencies/sports-injuries/Pages/Sudden-Cardiac-Death.aspx
  • https://www.healthychildren.org/English/health-issues/injuries-emergencies/sports-injuries/Pages/Preparing-for-Sudden-Cardiac-Arrest-in-Schools.aspx
  • https://www.webmd.com/heart-disease/guide/heart-attack-symptoms-emergency
  • https://health.clevelandclinic.org/why-are-heart-attacks-on-the-rise-in-young-people/