Medicines after a heart attack. What drugs to take for treatment after myocardial infarction What medicines can I drink during a heart attack

The condition of a person who has suffered a myocardial infarction strongly depends on the actions taken and the prescribed medications. Drugs for myocardial infarction are prescribed by a doctor after reading the cardiogram and should correspond to the degree of complications. This disease is provoked by poor blood supply to the myocardial tissues, which is associated with the formation of blood clots and plaques on the walls of the coronary arteries that clog the vessels.

Acute lack of oxygen in myocardial tissues is the main cause of heart attack.

Heartache

Behavior after a heart attack

High blood cholesterol, arterial hypertension, constant stress and excess weight - all these circumstances increase the risk of heart attack and complicate recovery from it. The fight against these factors or their complete elimination will significantly speed up the rehabilitation.

To maintain the normal functioning of the heart muscle, it is recommended to resort to the following methods:

• Diet therapy - to exclude "fast" carbohydrates from the diet, after they are consumed, a large portion of glucose is released into the blood. Reduce consumption of coffee, salt and other foods that increase blood pressure, give up fatty foods.
• Bad habits - to moderate the consumption of alcoholic beverages and nicotine, which impairs the functioning of the cardiovascular system, slowing down the supply of oxygen and nutrients to the myocardium.
• Physical exercise - a walk in the fresh air and a few simple exercises from the course of physiotherapy exercises will speed up the rehabilitation period.
• Controlling cholesterol levels - taking tests and taking statins in a timely manner, it is also important to stabilize blood pressure.
• Medical treatment of myocardial infarction - take all medications prescribed by your doctor.

According to statistics, men are more likely to have myocardial infarction than women. But even among the latter, the incidence rate is quite high, especially after the onset of menopause.

Important! The myocardium is the heart muscle; blood flows to it through the coronary arteries. A heart attack occurs when one of them is blocked, when some part of the heart is no longer supplied with blood.

Cells without blood supply are unable to live longer than half an hour, after which they begin to die off in the affected area, leaving a scar. Despite the seeming hopelessness, people who have experienced a heart attack are able to live a long time, especially if the drugs taken are prescribed in accordance with the indications.

Impact of treatment

Treatment after a heart attack is to minimize the risk of recurrence of the disease. There are several ways to stop complications:

1. Reduce the size of the affected area of \u200b\u200bthe heart;
2. Take measures to prevent blood clots;
3. Resume blood supply in the same volume.

For maximum efficiency of the treatment process, it is recommended to reduce the load on the heart muscle. An important task is to expand the lumen of the blood vessels. In people taking ACE inhibitors, blood supply to the coronary arteries improves, blood pressure normalizes.

Survey results

Prescribed drugs

The drugs prescribed for treatment after myocardial infarction include drugs of several groups, each of which has its own effect.

Statins

The main task of drugs in this group is to combat insufficient blood supply, which is hampered by cholesterol plaques. Lopirel and other drugs in this category break down cholesterol inclusions before they enter the cardiovascular system, even in the liver. Lopirel is also prescribed to relieve inflammation in the heart arteries.

Statins keep blood cholesterol levels at an acceptable level and prevent the absorption of dietary fats into the circulatory system that supplies the heart.

Before prescribing drugs from the statin group, the doctor prescribes a blood test for cholesterol. If its level is too high, then the drugs used for myocardial infarction are combined with a strict diet.

When prescribing statins, you do not need to eat pills in handfuls, they are drunk once a day before bedtime. The disadvantage of this approach is the duration of treatment, in some cases, you need to take statins all your life.

Nitro preparations

Doctors recommend the use of nitro drugs in cases where angina pectoris after myocardial infarction causes painful sensations. They are referred to as first aid, nitro preparations quickly stabilize blood pressure.

Nitro preparations

Taking nitro drugs increases the level of nitric oxide in the blood, due to this, the load on the blood vessels is reduced, which ensures normal blood flow to the heart. Regular intake of nitro drugs in therapeutic therapy eliminates the risk of myocardial infarction.

Side effects - pills for a heart attack can cause a sharp drop in blood pressure, against the background of which there is dizziness and weakness. Regular intake of nitro drugs is addictive, which reduces their effectiveness and causes withdrawal.

Validol for a heart attack

There is an opinion among the people that validol helps from all heart problems, but this is far from the case. Taking this medicine during an exacerbation of a heart attack can become fatal, because it in no way contributes to the expansion of the veins, on the contrary, validol makes a person sleep, which can distract him from making an important decision.

Important! If you suspect myocardial infarction, it is prohibited to take validol!

Beta blockers

Beta-blockers have a similar effect with drugs from the ARB-blocker group, their task is to reduce the stress on the vessels? feeding the heart muscle, but their principle of action on the body is distinguished. Beta blockers dull the sensitivity of the receptors that control the heart rate, thereby lowering the pressure in the affected vessels.

These funds are resorted to if the patient has a rapid heartbeat or high pressure in the arteries. Prevention of heart attacks is the main goal for which beta-blockers are prescribed for a long period of time.

Other heart conditions such as angina pectoris, chronic heart failure (left ventricular failure) and arrhythmias are also indications for beta-blocker drugs. The ability of drugs in this group to normalize the heart rate by lowering the pressure in the blood vessels reduces the load on the myocardium. The drugs used in this group can delay a possible relapse of the disease or completely avoid it.

Scar on the heart

Treatment after myocardial infarction with drugs of this group can be carried out both by completely neutralizing the action of the receptors, and by applying a selective effect on them. There are two groups of beta-blockers, they differ in the principle of action on the body. The first group is called selective and selectively acts on receptors. The second subgroup (non-selective) completely eliminates the influence of all factors that stimulate increased pressure in the vessels. There is also a third generation of drugs, but their price is much higher.

Important! The use of beta-blockers allows you to stabilize pressure, protect the myocardium and reduce the affected area.

In combination with beta-blockers or if they are ineffective, medications such as Vero-amlodipine are prescribed.

ARB blockers

Means of this subgroup bring the pressure in the arteries back to normal and reduce the hypertrophy of the heart muscle. Using these drugs after a heart attack can reduce blood flow blocking substances, lower blood cholesterol, and protect brain cells from stroke in patients with high blood pressure.

In addition to reducing pressure in the coronary vessels, ARB blockers have a beneficial effect on the kidneys. They should be drunk before meals, the dosage is prescribed by the attending physician.

The main advantage of such funds is considered to be good tolerance by the body. In some cases, a cardiologist may prescribe antihypoxants to improve oxygen delivery to the myocardium.

Anticoagulants

Funds in this category are used to prevent post-infarction in people with thick blood. When developing these drugs, a group of patients with thick blood who took anticoagulants took blood pressure measurements, and found that after a few days of taking the drugs, it returns to normal.

Important! Heparin for myocardial infarction should be prescribed only in conjunction with a course of nutrition calculated by a nutritionist, otherwise it will not only have insufficient effect, but also give side effects.

Oxygen deficiency, which occurs against the background of thick blood, can provoke a new attack of myocardial infarction. In the complex of treatment after a heart attack, anticoagulants must be included to liquefy clots in the blood.

Antiplatelet agents

To prevent the formation of new blood clots, Lopirel, Brilinta and other drugs of this group are included in the treatment after a heart attack, as well as anticoagulants, such agents help thin the blood.

Contraindications - Lopirel is prohibited for use in people with reduced blood clotting. The use of antiplatelet agents is also contraindicated in patients with liver problems.

Calcium channel blockers

These funds have a pronounced vasodilator effect on the coronary arteries, improve the contractility of the heart muscle, and normalize blood pressure.

This is a large group of drugs, a specific one is selected by a doctor based on the patient's history and condition. Among the most common drugs, Vero-amlodipine stands out, while amlodipine is recommended to be combined with statins and Lopirel.

Vero-amlodipine is used to effectively reduce the pressure in the blood vessels supplying the heart muscle. By blocking calcium ions entering through the membrane, it dilates the peripheral arterioles. Another positive quality of Vero-amlodipine is a decrease in myocardial oxygen demand.

Treatment with analgesics (morphine)

Pain relief in myocardial infarction with an analgesic should fit into the general concept of treatment, it is mandatory that the doctor admit such potent drugs as morphine. The main problem that the use of the analgesic morphine solves is the relief of pain. For acute heart attacks, a 2 mg dose of the analgesic morphine is required every 15 minutes until the severe pain stops.

Important to remember! It is forbidden to administer morphine in one exacerbation at a dosage exceeding 25 mg. The maximum dosage of this analgesic is 30 mg, after which death can occur.

Azithromycin

According to National Vital Statistics Reports, the use of the antibiotic azithromycin significantly increases the risk of myocardial infarction. The group who drank azithromycin to treat inflammatory processes in the body were more likely to have heart attacks. People suffering from pneumonia are often prescribed azithromycin in combination with other drugs, but in order to avoid risks, it is better to exclude it. And when treating pneumonia and other infections in patients with a history of myocardial infarction, drugs should be chosen with particular vigilance. The doctor can prescribe azithromycin only after reading the medical record.

Affected vessels

Vitamins

Vitamin complexes prescribed by the attending physician play an essential role in restoring the normal functioning of the cardiovascular system after an experienced myocardial infarction. Usually, the course of taking vitamins lasts 2-3 months, but if the patient decides to drink them longer, then nothing bad will happen.

Important! People suffering from atherosclerosis need a careful selection of the vitamin complex, since the drugs taken block the action of certain vitamins.

After the prescribed period of taking vitamins has expired, you should pause for at least two months and you can start the course again.

Important! Despite the seeming harmlessness, it is not recommended to independently approach the choice of vitamin complexes, they should be prescribed only by a doctor.

Treatment principles

Medicines after myocardial infarction are prescribed to prevent its recurrence, and the entire recovery process can be divided into 4 points.

1. The restoration of blood circulation is considered the main goal, after reaching which repeated attacks usually do not occur. In pursuit of this goal, more and more new drugs are being developed, and the schemes for taking old complexes are being improved.
2. Thrombolic therapy is a set of measures that are performed in the first 5-6 hours after an attack. Experts have found that thanks to this therapy, 3% of the total number of deaths can be avoided. The chance of success directly depends on the timing of the application of a set of measures, the earlier assistance is provided, the higher the chance of survival. The sense of carrying out thrombolic therapy a day after a heart attack is completely lost.
3. Intravascular methods - the purpose of these manipulations lies in the expansion of the lumen of the affected vessels. Special frames (stents) are used, which expand damaged areas of blood vessels under pressure.
4. Surgery - such an intervention is advisable only with extensive damage to the heart muscle.

Hospitalization

Diet

The diet used for acute myocardial infarction allows consumption.

Heart attack medicines are used both during the immediate attack and after it to cope with the consequences and prevent death. The course of drug therapy has an individual character, depending on the stage of the disease, the area of \u200b\u200bthe lesion, the presence of complications, the age of the patient.

The main goals of medical treatment of heart attack

On the first day and further, for 8-15 days, Cordaron is prescribed in a daily dosage of 0.4-0.6 g. In a hospital setting, it can be increased to 1.2 g. During maintenance therapy, the daily dosage will be 0.2 -0.4 g

The drug Streptokinase is a fibrinolytic agent. The tool is presented in the form of a solution that is administered intravenously.

The drug helps to restore coronary blood flow, relieves pain, and also limits the size of myocardial infarction. Another effect is risk reduction.

This remedy belongs to the drug group and can only be prescribed by a doctor. Used in a hospital setting.

The tool provides adequate relief of pain syndrome and prevents the development of a state of shock immediately after a heart attack.

Promedol, unlike many drugs from a number of narcotic analgesics, is safer for elderly patients, as well as people who suffer from obstructive pulmonary diseases.

This medication prevents or limits coronary thrombosis, and is also a means of preventing thromboembolic complications. It belongs to the group of direct anticoagulants.

Heparin is necessary because blood clotting increases during myocardial infarction, as a result of which the lumen of the blood vessels becomes clogged with blood clots. The latter can become large, come off and, together with the blood flow, enter the large arteries of the brain, lungs, and deep veins.

Propranolol reduces cardiac output, that is, reduces the strength and frequency of contractions of the heart muscle, reduces myocardial oxygen demand. Taking this remedy also reduces anxiety, fear, and anxiety.

In case of myocardial infarction, the drug is prescribed in the period from 5 days after the registration of the first attack, 40 mg 4 times a day for the first 2-3 days. Further, the dosage is adjusted.

This drug belongs to the group of statins - medicines that fight the plaque of cholesterol in the blood vessels. Their active components break down cholesterol in the liver and promote its accelerated elimination from the body. Lipostat contains pravastatin.

Before starting therapy with Lipostat, blood cholesterol levels are assessed. If it is too high, then the patient needs to learn the rules, which are aimed at limiting food that is rich in this substance.

You need to take the pills daily, once a day, preferably before bedtime. The initial dosage is 10-20 mg once. The maximum therapeutic effect appears 4 weeks after the start of treatment. Elderly patients are prescribed 20 mg of the drug per day.

This drug in the period after myocardial infarction relieves pain in the event of an attack of angina pectoris. Isoket belongs to the group of nitro drugs. The active ingredient of the drug is isosorbide dinitrate.

Isoket is available as an infusion solution. In addition to symptomatic treatment of unstable angina pectoris, the drug can also be used in the acute period of myocardial infarction.

The medicine relaxes the smooth muscles of blood vessels, reduces preload, relieves pain.

Therapy begins with a dose of 1-2 mg per hour, the maximum dosage does not exceed 8-10 mg per hour.

This drug is antihypertensive. It belongs to the group of ACE inhibitors. Contains the active substance of the same name.

It lowers blood pressure, widens the lumen of blood vessels, and has a cardioprotective effect. With prolonged use, the drug increases exercise tolerance.

You can take pills regardless of meals. The dosage is 2.5 mg twice a day.

The drug is an antihypertensive agent. Contains the active ingredient of the same name. Available in tablet form in different dosages (40, 80 and 160 mg).

The tool reduces preload, increases cardiac output. In combination with the drug Captopril Valsartan reduces the risk of postinfarction complications.

The drug belongs to the group of beta-blockers. These medications normalize heart rate and lower blood pressure in patients who have had a heart attack. Anaprilin contains propranolol hydrochloride and is available in tablet form.

The drug has antiarrhythmic and hypotensive effects, reduces the frequency and strength of heart contractions, increases peripheral vascular resistance.

The drug is suitable for long-term use during the recovery period after myocardial infarction.

The dosage is 40 mg 4 times a day. The total daily dose is 160 mg.

This medication contains potassium losartan. Release form - tablets with different dosages (25, 50 and 100 mg).

Losartan has a pronounced hypotensive effect immediately after the first tablet intake. The drug lowers systolic and diastolic blood pressure.

During the period of treatment with the use of Losartan tablets with any dosage of the main active ingredient, strict control of blood pressure indicators is required.

To reduce the risk of developing cardiovascular pathologies, including after a myocardial infarction, you should take 50 mg of the drug per day.

The drug has the same name as the main active ingredient. The drug is characterized by a pronounced hypotensive effect, reduces the level of afterload and pressure in the pulmonary circulation.

Most often, the agent is prescribed at a dosage of 12.5-25 mg per day.

The agent is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug and antiplatelet agent. Cardiomagnet is available in tablet form. The active ingredients of the drug are acetylsalicylic acid and magnesium hydroxide.

The pharmacological action of the drug is that it reduces the ability of platelets to aggregate, that is, it prevents the formation of blood clots that clog the vessels and prevent normal blood flow.

You can take the drug both for the prevention of complications after a heart attack, and directly in the acute period of myocardial infarction.

The prophylactic dose of Cardiomagnyl is 75 mg per day.

The drug belongs to the group of anticoagulants. Anfibra is available in the form of an injection solution. It is injected subcutaneously into the inferior or superior lateral parts of the anterior abdominal wall. Intramuscular administration of this solution is contraindicated.

Preparations containing vitamins and microelements

Separately, it is necessary to mention the vitamin complexes that compensate for the deficiency of certain vitamins and minerals in the body.

During the rehabilitation period after a heart attack, the patient is usually prescribed the following means:

Panangin is a combined drug that contains potassium and magnesium - substances that play an important role in maintaining the functioning of the heart muscle. Panangin is available in the form of tablets for oral administration, as well as a concentrate solution.

The drug restores electrolyte balance, regulates metabolic processes and reactions, has a pronounced antiarrhythmic effect.

Asparkam is a drug that also contains potassium and magnesium. The drug is released in the form of tablets, as well as a solution concentrate.

The agent has an antiarrhythmic effect, is used as a source of potassium and magnesium, and helps to restore electrolyte balance. Also, Asparkam reduces the excitability and conductivity of the heart muscle, improves metabolism in its tissues, and helps to improve coronary circulation.

The tablets should be taken after meals, the daily dose is 3-6 tablets, divided into 3 doses. The solution is intended for intravenous administration only, its highest single dose will be 20 ml.

This medicine contains riboxin and calcium stearate (in tablet form). The solution of the same name contains inosine.

The drug is anabolic in nature, has antiarrhythmic and antihypoxic effects. Active substances ensure the normalization of tissue respiration, have a positive effect on metabolic processes in the heart muscle.

You need to take pills before meals, the dosage is determined individually. As a rule, the initial dose is 1 tablet, the frequency of receptions is 3-4 times a day.

Medicines are used both directly at the time of a heart attack and in the recovery period after a myocardial infarction. The patient is prescribed drugs of various pharmacological groups that have certain effects.

• Beta blockers for MI
• ACE inhibitors

Today, heart disease ranks first among the diseases of particular danger, therefore, special treatment after myocardial infarction, drugs that are taken to restore the body - all this must be carefully selected in accordance with the contraindications and characteristics of each patient.

Research advances to help treat MI

From the history of the recent past, we can learn that three decades ago new approaches were adopted and intensive care wards were developed, in which patients with coronary diseases were registered. Such departments were engaged in real practice, improving not only the effectiveness of the treatment itself, but also the prevention of negative changes in the rhythm and cardiac conduction of patients with myocardial infarction. The results of the studies, which related to the percentage of deaths, were positive - the number of deaths decreased by tens of percent. At the same time, experiments in treatment helped to identify the role of thrombosis as one of the main causes of acute MI, as a result of which a new thrombolytic treatment method was structured, which is still used today, reducing the number of negative outcomes by half.

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Action at the most important moment

Groundbreaking drug treatment is based on a number of factors that interact through new experiences from individual clinical trials, different disciplines and schools. Sometimes the study of new pathologies of MI, taking place simultaneously in hundreds of hospitals around the world, allows doctors in standard clinical situations to coordinate their actions much faster and make the right decision without hesitation.

Myocardial infarction itself is a form of heart disease. The ischemic component of this disease is caused by the development of necrosis of individual sections of the heart muscle, as a result of which the relative or complete insufficiency of its blood supply unfolds. People who have experienced this disease in their own experience are in the area of \u200b\u200brecurrence of myocardial infarction, and their risk of stroke or even death is very high. That is why long-term medication after hospital treatment is so necessary in the first place to them.

In addition to medication, one should remember the postulate of a relatively new approach to lifestyle, more precisely, the complete change in the latter.

A risk factor, and not one, is present in high blood pressure, elevated cholesterol, overweight, smoking, inactivity and, importantly, in unresolved problems in the mental as well as emotional spheres of life. Given all these components, including drug treatment, the prevention of one disease will benefit all branches of the integrity of a person’s life. Given the absence or presence of contraindications, various types of action are prescribed.

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Antiplatelet Medicines

These drugs represent a group of drugs whose main function is blood thinning; they do not allow the soldering of blood cells (platelets) and prevent their adhesion to the walls of blood vessels. The use of these drugs for myocardial infarction prevents the formation of blood clots and blocks arterial blockage, which stops the mechanism of action of myocardial infarction.

In the human body there is more than one mechanism by which platelet adhesion is traced. And the existence of a medical method of blocking prevents the most basic methods of aggregation of blood cells. It was found that the risk of recurring MI in the first year after the first stressful myocardium is quite high, therefore, two antiplatelet agents are used to achieve stable blood thinning:

1. Aspirin or acetylsalicylic acid. In the absence of negative side effects on the body, tablets are prescribed for life.
2. Clopidogrel. Recommended in taking an annual course of treatment with subsequent discontinuation of the drug. If there is an allergic reaction to aspirin, then clopidogrel is prescribed as a permanent antiplatelet agent.

If the patient underwent surgery for angioplasty, then several antiplatelet agents - aspirin and clopidogrel - are prescribed at the same time.

There is a third - additional - drug that is present in anticoagulants. Most often it is warfarin. It can be prescribed for intolerance to acetylsalicylic acid or clopidogrel. As for the problematic experiences associated with taking these drugs, this is a possibility of internal bleeding, and usually these bleeding occur in the stomach or intestines. Often on the patient’s body, in connection with taking such medications, small bruises and bruises occur, which can serve as a reason for the decision to independently cancel the medicine. Signs of damage to the body, as well as any changes, should be discussed with the doctor, and not serve as a reason for self-cancellation, since these drugs significantly reduce the possibility of re-infarction and prolong life.

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Medications that lower blood cholesterol. In addition, they have the beneficial effects on the walls of blood vessels: they normalize their work and prevent the rupture of atherosclerotic plaques, which stabilizes their percentage in the blood to “normal”.

It should be explained here that rupture of plaques triggers the process of coagulation of blood cells and clogging of blood clots of arteries and blood vessels.

The use of these drugs can reduce the risk of recurrence of a heart attack.

Given these protective properties of statins, they are prescribed regardless of the amount of cholesterol in the blood, and even those who have normal indicators.

The dose is selected individually, and the goal is to achieve a cholesterol level of less than 2.5 mmol / L. The medicine is prescribed for an indefinite period.

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Comprehensive treatment after myocardial infarction with drugs is aimed at preventing relapse, therapy and prevention of heart failure and heart rhythm disturbances, as well as stabilizing blood pressure. Prescribed drugs of various kinds.

Statins

Myocardial infarction develops in connection with the growth of atherosclerotic plaques and the formation of blood clots on them. After the attack, the pathological processes do not stop. For this reason, there is a high probability of relapse.

Medications after a heart attack are prescribed to slow the development of atherosclerosis and prevent the formation of blood clots inside the coronary arteries. Statins cope with this task. This group of medicines stops platelet adhesion.

The action of the drugs is characterized by the following:

• cholesterol breakdown improves;
• the output of cholesterol from the body is accelerated, its level in the blood is stabilized;
• relieved inflammation in the vessels.

How often do you get a blood test?

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As directed by your healthcare provider 30%, 1212 votes

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I monitor my health and donate 6% once a month, 250 of votes

I'm afraid of this procedure and try not to pass 4%, 169 of votes

21.10.2019

In rare cases, statins cannot be taken (cirrhosis, a number of genetic disorders, pregnancy, etc.). Other groups of drugs are prescribed to patients with contraindications.

Before the appointment, the attending physician directs the patient to a laboratory blood test to assess the level of cholesterol. At a high rate, a diet is prescribed for the effectiveness of drug therapy.

Reception of statins can be followed by side symptoms. Dizziness, weakness, nausea, or swelling may occur. In some cases, there is a violation of the stool, pressure fluctuations, excessive sweating, pain in the joints and muscles.

Beta blockers

The increased rhythm of heart contractions leads to stimulation of the relationship of the heart with the nervous system and an increase in catecholamines in the blood. Myocardial activity increases. This requires an increase in the energy supply of the heart; favorable conditions can be created for the development of angina pectoris. Therefore, an important area of \u200b\u200bdrug treatment of myocardial infarction is the use of beta-adrenergic receptor blockers.

The drugs reduce the adrenergic effect on the heart muscle, reduce the effect of the nervous system on the work of the heart, facilitating its work.

The mechanism of action is characterized by the following:

• pulse stabilizes;
• decreased cardiac output, coronary outflow;
• low blood pressure;

Oxygen uptake by the heart muscle decreases, peripheral resistance increases.

2 types of blockers are used:

1. Cardioselective. Affect cardiac (B1) receptors.
2. Non-cardioselective. Affect cardiac and smooth muscle receptors (B2).

This group of drugs is not prescribed for low blood pressure, bradycardia, asthma and pathologies of the vascular system.

Possible side effects include spasm of the bronchi and peripheral vessels, dizziness, headache. Allergic reactions and the development of withdrawal syndrome are possible.

Finoptin

Synonyms Verapamil; Isoptin.

Medication guide bradycardia verapamil dizziness Isoptin myocardial infarction cardiogenic shock general weakness angina pectoris tachycardia extrasystole

Tiklid

Dosage Forms. Tiklid - synthetic drug. Available in tablets in a package of 30 pieces.

Myocardial infarction

A lot of human lives are interrupted heart attack. This formidable disease can overtake a person at the time of excitement, when, as they say, he was “brought to a heart attack,” or with physical stress. More often, a heart attack develops in the morning during the transition from night rest to daytime activity, but it also happens that it affects the heart for no apparent reason, even in a dream.

In acute myocardial infarction, only about fifty percent of patients manage to be brought alive to the hospital. Although the quality of emergency medical services is not the same in many countries, these sad statistics are almost unchanged everywhere. Of those patients who were able to be taken to the hospital, another third survive until discharge due to serious complications.

But what is a heart attack and why does it occur?

When the blood supply to the heart muscle worsens, the so-called coronary heart disease occurs. Every second man and every third woman suffer from it. When the blood supply to the area of \u200b\u200bthe heart muscle for any reason is completely stopped, coronary heart disease becomes acute. In the area of \u200b\u200bthe myocardium where blood does not enter for more than fifteen to twenty minutes, cardiac cells undergo death (necrosis). This area of \u200b\u200bdead cells is called myocardial infarction .

Acute myocardial infarction - an acute disease caused by the development of foci of necrosis in the heart muscle as a result of a violation of its blood supply, which occurs as a result of coronary artery thrombosis or its sharp narrowing by atherosclerotic and plaque.

In the event that necrosis captures a large area of \u200b\u200bthe heart muscle along its surface and spreads in depth, a heart attack is called large-focal, if the volume of necrosis is not very large - small-focal. Of course, large-focal heart attacks are most dangerous, especially when localized on the front wall of the ventricles of the heart. When a heart attack heals, a scar remains in its place - a scar. Since the heart muscle does not recover from damage, the scar remains on the heart for the rest of its life.

Myocardial infarction causes

The main cause of coronary disease and heart attack is atherosclerosis. that is, narrowing of the lumen of blood vessels due to the fact that cholesterol and other lipids contained in the blood are deposited in them. In those places of the vascular wall where lipids form the largest clusters, atherosclerotic plaques. growing into the wall of the vessel. Over time, calcium is deposited in the plaques, which gives them rigidity. While the plaque has not yet hardened, it is very fragile and can easily crack. Damage to plaques in the arteries of the heart can be caused by various reasons, even an increase in blood pressure and heart palpitations that occur during physical exertion. When the plaque ruptures, the integrity of the vessel wall is violated at this point. The body always closes the damaged vessel wall with blood clots (blood clots). In case of damage to the heart vessel, the blood coagulation system also turns on, and a blood clot grows quickly around the fissure, like a snowball rolling down a mountain. It can, growing, clog an artery. Then, blood flow stops and the surrounding cardiac muscle cells die. As a result of their necrosis, myocardial infarction occurs. Its size depends on what size the section fed the artery, or, as they say, on the size of its pool.

Predisposing factors for heart attack

A heart attack often affects men than women. True, this applies only to young women who have not yet survived menopause, whose vessels protect estrogen and other sex hormones. Those women who are “over fifty” get a heart attack even more often than men. In recent years, there has been an alarming tendency to “rejuvenate” myocardial infarction, and often in the cardiology departments you can find heart attacks a little over thirty years old. There are various heart attack risk factors to be aware of.

Plays a large role in predisposition to heart attack heredity. If a heart attack, cerebral stroke, coronary heart disease were registered at least one of your direct relatives and especially under the age of 55 years, then this is an occasion for you to beware. Since coronary heart disease is very widespread, as already mentioned, it is recommended that everyone be on the alert.

If the blood is elevated cholesterol - more than 5 mmol / l or more than 200 mg / dl, - the risk of atherosclerosis and atherosclerotic plaques increases.

Smoking is one of the main risk factors, as it adversely affects blood vessels.

Sedentary lifestyle and its frequent companion - excess weight is poorly reflected in the activity of the heart muscle.

Arterial pressure more than 140/90 mm Hg may provoke rupture of an atherosclerotic plaque.

Diabetes severely damages blood vessels, including cardiac, making the myocardium vulnerable to heart attack.

It is believed that male pattern baldness also indicates the possibility of a heart attack, since it is caused by elevated levels of male hormones - androgens, and hormonal instability provokes an increase in blood pressure and an increase in blood cholesterol concentration.

Doctors warn that a combination of several risk factors increases the likelihood of a myocardial infarction exponentially. How does it start?

Symptoms and diagnosis of myocardial infarction

Signs of myocardial infarction there are different, but the first alarming sign of a heart attack is severe, sometimes unbearable pain behind the sternum, which cannot be removed with three tablets of nitroglycerin, placed under the tongue one after the other with an interval of five minutes. It occurs at rest, in contrast to pain with angina pectoris, which is characterized by the occurrence during exercise. The pain can be pressing, burning or compressing, often it gives to the arm, back, shoulder, neck or jaw. In no case should such pain be tolerated. To get into the fifty percent survivor group on the way to the hospital, immediately call an ambulance.

The manifestations of a heart attack can be loss of consciousness, vomiting, discomfort in the abdomen, shortness of breath or interruptions in the work of the heart. But in some cases, the patient may not even feel that he has a heart attack. A painless form of heart attack is most often found in patients with diabetes mellitus. No matter how a heart attack manifests itself, it can be reliably diagnosed by an electrocardiogram. The area of \u200b\u200bdamage and changes in the structure of the heart muscle are better determined using echocardiography, or ultrasound of the heart. Sometimes the doctor prescribes scintigraphy - a radioisotope study of the heart muscle, which allows you to accurately establish the localization of ischemia in the myocardium.

Myocardial Infarction Treatment

For heart pain, time is critical. First aid for myocardial infarction need to be rendered as quickly as possible. If the attack lasts no more than half an hour, the consequences will be minimal. It is necessary to put Nitroglycerin under the tongue until the tablets are completely absorbed. It relieves a pain attack within 3-5 minutes. If not, take a second pill. In cases where nitroglycerin does not give an effect within 10 minutes, all hope for an ambulance.

Ambulance for myocardial infarction. If you suspect a heart attack, the patient must be urgently taken to the hospital and placed as soon as possible in the intensive care unit. The first few hours after a heart attack is a precious time for treatment, when it is still possible to dissolve the newly formed thrombus with special drugs and improve the blood supply to the heart. To reduce the risk of complications and prevent the formation of new blood clots, medications are prescribed that slow down blood clotting. A proven and reliable tool is aspirin, it is also acetylsalicylic acid.

Often, the patient is prescribed beta-blockers of adrenergic receptors, which do not give the “stress hormone” - adrenaline to increase the heart rate, which means they are protected from overload, which is vital in case of a heart attack, and can save heart muscle cells from death.

Recently, non-drug methods of treating a heart attack are increasingly being used, the use of which can improve impaired blood supply. For example, coronary balloon angioplasty will help if the drugs are ineffective. A can is introduced through the femoral vein into the vessels of the heart. By inflating it, you can expand the dangerously narrowed vessel. In more complex cases, a coronary artery bypass surgery is indicated.

In the first few days after a heart attack, strict bed rest is necessary to minimize the load on the damaged heart. Nowadays, you do not need to lie in bed for several weeks, as was previously considered necessary. The patient observes bed rest for at least three days, then gradually, as he is allowed to sit, get up and walk, he begins the path to recovery and literally takes the first steps in a new life after a heart attack.

Rehabilitation after myocardial infarction

All who have suffered a heart attack, are concerned about the question - will they be able to return to a full life after myocardial infarction. There is no single answer to this question, therefore, all people have different ideas about a full life, and everyone with a heart attack heals in their own way. If a heart attack of the same severity is suffered by a heavy weight lifter and a programmer, but most likely, the first is unlikely to return to the platform, and the second will be able to do what he loves.

Restoring the body after a heart attack the body is a long process that lasts for months. This is the most suitable period in order to comprehensively consider your previous lifestyle and make adjustments to it. Already in the hospital, along with taking medications and physiotherapeutic procedures, they are also engaged in physical exercises, but their intensity should increase gradually and very carefully, the struggle for records is inappropriate here! Physical activity begins with physical therapy, then you need to train in walking on a flat surface, then it is the turn of the most popular and very effective trainer - a regular ladder. With its help, you can determine whether the patient is ready for an active life. If he is able to climb to the fourth floor without shortness of breath and chest pain, rehabilitation is successful. There are more accurate tests, for example, a sample with a dosed load, which is carried out on special simulators - on a treadmill or bicycle ergometer.

After a heart attack, the patient takes many medications. How long does it take to continue taking? Sure, all my life. Only with their help it is possible to ensure good heart function and well-being.

Many people are concerned about the question of whether sexual activity after a heart attack is possible, but they do not always dare to ask their doctor. Without false shame, ask him about it! Only he will be able to objectively assess your physical condition and decide whether this load is within your power. If you are already strong enough, be sure to observe the precautions necessary so that sexual intimacy brings you joy, and not a new heart attack. Optimally, if you are in a familiar environment with a familiar partner. The position should be such as to minimize the load - on the side or on the back.

Heart attack prevention

It is possible to prevent a heart attack by influencing risk factors. It is possible to minimize any of them, with the exception of gender and heredity.

It is necessary to normalize blood pressure and especially closely monitor it under adverse conditions, for example, in the heat and during geomagnetic disturbances.

To prevent diabetes, you need to maintain a normal level of sugar in the blood.

Increase motor activity! Daily walks of at least 5-6 kilometers are required.

Be sure to quit smoking, this risk factor can negate all efforts.

It is also important to lose weight. How many extra pounds in your kilograms? This can be calculated by determining the body mass index (BMI). Square your height in meters and divide your weight in kilograms into it. Normal BMI does not exceed 26.

In order not to gain excess weight and preserve blood vessels, you need to eat as few foods as possible containing animal fats and cholesterol, and as many vegetables and fruits as possible. Replace pork with white poultry, butter with sunflower or olive, lard with unsalted fish. Such a diet will have a beneficial effect not only at the level of cholesterol, but also on your wallet.

heart attack treatment at home

The myocardium is the heart muscle. Through the arteries, which are called coronary, blood flows to it. If any of these arteries is clogged by a blood clot - a blood clot, then the area of \u200b\u200bthe heart that it nourishes remains without blood supply, and therefore, without oxygen. “On a starvation diet” myocardial cells can live only 20-30 minutes. Then they die - this is a heart attack, a necrosis site in the heart tissue. A scar remains in the affected area.

Recently, myocardial infarction is rapidly "getting younger." Now it is not uncommon when it strikes people who have barely crossed the thirty-year threshold. True, in women under the age of 50, heart attack is a rarity. Up to this point, their vessels are protected from atherosclerosis by estrogens and other sex hormones. But with the onset of menopause, women, on the contrary, get sick more often than men.

Myocardial Infarction Treatment

In order not to take risks, at the slightest suspicion of a heart attack, doctors send a person to the intensive care unit of the hospital. And the faster, the better. Indeed, only during the first few hours, introducing special preparations, it is possible to dissolve a “fresh” thrombus and restore blood flow in the coronary artery. Then, the formation of new blood clots should be prevented. To do this, use drugs that slow down blood coagulation. One of the most reliable means is acetylsalicylic acid, that is, ordinary aspirin. It reduces the number of complications and prolongs the life of people who have had a heart attack.

Beta blockers are often used in treatment. These drugs reduce myocardial oxygen demand, which means they save the heart muscle cells from death and reduce the size of necrosis. At the same time, they make the work of the heart more economical, which is very important for a heart attack. In recent years, not only medicines have been used to treat a heart attack. In particular, the so-called invasive methods include coronary balloon angioplasty. Angioplasty is indicated for drug therapy failure. In another case, the cardiac surgeon may suggest coronary artery bypass surgery.

In the early days, strict bed rest is required. At this time, a damaged heart may not withstand even minimal loads. Previously, a person who had a heart attack did not get out of bed for several weeks. Today, bed rest is significantly reduced. But still, at least three days after a heart attack, you must lie in bed under the supervision of doctors. Then it is allowed to sit, get up later, walk ... Recovery begins, adaptation to a new, "post-infarction" life.