Poor habits and lifestyle raise risk of heart attack: Studies

The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Thu, 07/19/2007 11:27 AM

Hannie Kusuma, Contributor, Jakarta

It was not that late at night when the man ordered a bottle of Jack Daniels. That Tuesday, amid the blare of music and a blanket of smoke from clove cigarettes, it seemed the evening would progress as any other. He would enjoy his after work hours sitting in a cafe with his office mates and later return home. However, when the clock struck 8:30 p.m. he felt incredible pain in the left side of his chest. He felt as though he was being stabbed and squeezed, leaving him unable to breathe freely. The pain, which spread to his back, was so intense that he broke out in a cold sweat.

The man, David Nikijuluw, quickly got help from his colleagues, who immediately rushed him to a general practitioner. The medication the doctor gave him eased the pain. David, who had just celebrated his 40th birthday, thought that was the end of it but he was proven wrong. On Saturday morning, he had another attack. This time the pain would not go away even after he took the medicine prescribed by the doctor. So he was rushed to Mitra Keluarga Hospital in Kelapa Gading, Jakarta. Dr. Utoyo Lubiantoro, SpJP, a cardiologist, examined David and told him he'd had a heart attack.

David was lucky that he immediately sought medical attention. Acute myocardial infarct or thrombosis, which blocks blood flow, often results in death. In addition, surgery for the placement of a stent using the Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PCI) was undertaken within what is called the ""golden period"".

""The golden period lasts less than six hours after an attack. If medical action is taken within this time, the benefits are optimum,"" Utoyo said.

David's case is just one of many cases of heart disease afflicting young people. While previously it was generally only older people who had heart attacks, today even 35 year olds should always be on the alert against possible heart attack.

Why?

Dr. Faisal Baraas, SpJP, FIHA, president director of Harapan Kita Cardiac and Blood Vessel Hospital, said, ""There are two risk factors for a heart disease, namely the reversible and the irreversible.

""Irreversible factors are genetics (whether there is a family history of heart disease), sex and age. In terms of sex, more men than women have a heart attack, and the risk increases with age.""

It is the reversible factors that are frequently the culprits for a heart attack. These factors include smoking, high cholesterol, hypertension, diabetes, obesity, stress and lack of physical exercise. In short, these reversible factors are related to an unhealthy lifestyle.

There are many kinds of heart disease but the most feared one is coronary heart disease, which causes a heart attack and even sudden death. The cause is the narrowing and constriction of the coronary arteries. A heart attack means the death of the muscle tissues of the heart because of total or near total blockage of the blood vessels, which measure only two to four millimeters in diameter.

According to Dr. Utoyo, in normal conditions, blockage may not cover 50 percent of the diameter of the blood vessels. However, if there is a triggering factor, this blockage can get thicker, then plaques form and covers the entire blood vessel. Narrowing of the blood vessels, or atherosclerosis, later causes chest pain (angina), disturbance in the heart-beat rhythm (a-arrhythmia), a heart attack (infarct), heart failure or sudden death.

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