Heart attacks, Strokes, and

Seizures
By Troy Miller

The Heart

The heart is perhaps the most vital organ in our

bodies as it provides blood and oxygen to all other
major organs such as the lungs, kidneys, and liver.
The heart has four chambers, the right atrium, the
right ventricle, the left atrium, and the left ventricle.
The right atrium gets blood from the veins and
pumps to the right ventricle which receives the
blood and pumps it to the lungs where it's loaded
with oxygen.
The left atrium receives oxygenated blood from
lungs and pumps to the left ventricle, and the left
ventricle pumps oxygen-rich blood to the rest of the
body and the left ventricles vigorous contractions
create our blood pressure.

Heart Attack

Myocardial infarction also known as a heart attack is the

number one killer of most people in the united states, it can
come in many ways either through increasing blood
pressure, eating greasy and unhealthy foods, or blocking the
arteries.
Some of the major causes are blockages in the arteries,
blood clots, artery spasms, and heart spasms.
Signs or symptoms of heart attacks can be identified through
the following means, pressure or pain in the chest, pain that
runs from the chest, to the arm, to the jaw and neck, difficulty
breathing, and irregular rapid heart beats.
Silent symptoms include nausea, heavy perspiration,
dizziness, fainting, vomiting, a feeling of fullness, or choking.

Treatments for Heart Attacks

Medications can be used to treat heart attack symptoms

and these include aspirin, nitroglycerin, beta blockers,
thrombolytics, and other blood thinning medications.
Surgery may also be an option in addition to medications.
The types of surgeries include Coronary angioplasty and
stenting, or coronary artery bypass surgery which involves
sewing veins or arteries in place beyond a blocked or
narrowed coronary artery.

Strokes

Strokes are the 5th leading cause of death in the united states,
and they are a reduction or lack of blood supplied to the brain.
Approximately 800,000 people have a stroke each year, one
about every 40 seconds, and if not stopped after 4 minutes,
serious brain damage or death can occur.
Strokes are also referred to as apoplexy, and cerebrovascular
accident.
There are three types of strokes called ischemic strokes,
hemorrhagic strokes, and transient ischemic strokes
(mini-strokes).

Causes of strokes

Causes for most strokes include blockages in the arteries, high

blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart disease, aging, heredity,
obesity, smoking, diabetes, and drugs.
In Ischemic strokes the most common form of strokes
accounting 85% is caused by blockages or narrowing of the
arteries.
Hemorrhagic strokes are caused by arteries in the brains
leaking blood or bursting open, leaked blood puts pressure on
brain cells and damages them.
TIAs are often caused by blood clots or other debris and they
serve as a warning sign for future strokes and there is a
partially blocked artery or clot source in the heart.

Symptoms to watch for strokes

Main symptoms of strokes include confusion, trouble

speaking or understanding, headaches possibly altered with
consciousness or vomiting,numbness of the face, arm, or
leg, trouble seeing with one or both eyes, and trouble with
walking, including dizziness and the lack of coordination.
Patients can also experience long term or short term
disabilities or problems such as depression, bladder or
bowel problems, pain in the hands, paralysis or weakness,
trouble controlling or expressing emotion.
F.A.S.T. also helps determine whether you are having a
stroke or about to have one and the steps are as followed
1.Face drooping, 2.Arm weakness, 3.Speech difficulty , and
4. Time to call 911.

Treatment for Strokes

To treat ischemic strokes, doctors must

quickly restore blood flow to the brain
Emergency treatment with medications
allow for therapy with clot-busting drugs
must start within 3 hours if given into the
vein and sooner the better.
You may also be given aspirin, or an
intravenous injection of tissue
plasminogen activator(TPA).
A TPA restores blood flow by dissolving
the blood clots causing the stroke, and it
may help people who have more strokes
recover quickly, and the doctor will
consider potential risks such as bleeding
in the brain.

Seizures

A seizure is a sudden and severe

uncontrollable contraction of muscles that
causes the patient to become almost
completely stiff.
Some of the causes include elevated
body temp., head injuries, brain diseases,
and disorders such as epilepsy.
Some of the warning signs that a seizure
is about to occur include dizziness,
nausea, numbness, slight headaches,
upset stomachs, tingling sensation, racing
thoughts, strong emotions, feeling of deja
vu, blurry or dimmed vision, strange taste,
staring or Zoning out.

Treatment for Seizures

During a seizure, you must protect the person

suffering it from injury, keep him/her from falling,
move furniture and other objects that might injure
the patient, dont put anything in the persons
mouth and DONT hold the person down.
Pay close attention to what the person is doing so
that you can describe the seizure to rescue
personnel or doctors.
How the persons body moved, how long the
seizure lasted, how the person acted before
seizure, how person acted immediately after,
whether the person suffered any injuries from the
seizure.

Sources Cited

Google Images
http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/heart-attack/in-depth/heart-atta
ck-symptoms/art-20047744
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/7624.php
http://www.webmd.com/epilepsy/guide/types-of-seizures-their-symptoms