Heart attacks occur when heart muscles do not receive enough oxygen rich blood and therefore start to die. This can happen for a variety of reasons, but usually occurs when a blood clot forms in one of the blood vessels leading to the heart. If this clot gets large enough it can block the blood supply to the organ.

When an individual suffers a heart attack, the symptoms can include a plethora of conditions. These include coughing, chest pain ranging from a mild discomfort to a crushing pain, dizziness, shortness of breath, ashen colored face (a gray appearance), nausea, vomiting and clammy and sweaty. Pain is usually felt in the chest initially, but can then spread to the arms, wrist, neck, jaw and ears. Less common is pain in the shoulder blades, the abdomen and the back.

Some of the main causes of heart attacks include age (this is thought to be the largest contributing factor, and men over 45 and women over 55 years of age see their risk rise dramatically); angina; high cholesterol levels; diabetes; diet; genetic makeup (hereditary); blood pressure; heart surgery; obesity; physical inactivity; and smoking.

Heart Attack

The quicker a heart attack victim is treated, the more successful their treatment tends to be. Some treatments that can be administered during a heart attack are CPR, manual chest compression, use of a defibrillator, a 300mg dose of aspirin, and sometimes, morphine.

Whereas acute pain in an individual is a typical sensation that is usually triggered to alert them of a possible illness or injury, chronic pain differs in that it can last for weeks, even months or years. Although there could have been an initial trigger for this pain such as an infection or injury, or ongoing pain because of such things as cancer or arthritis, some people can suffer from chronic pain without any prior illness or injury.

Generally, chronic pain tends to affect older people and the complaints associated with this can include lower back pain, headaches, arthritis pain and cancer pain. There are some treatments that are prescribed for sufferers of the condition and these include medication, electrical stimulation, acupuncture and in some cases, surgery. Some medical practitioners have even gone so far as to prescribe placebos for the treatment, which has actually resulted in the lessening or complete elimination of the pain. This may therefore indicate that the condition can be associated with psychological conditions as well as physical.

Chronic Pain

Some individuals with chronic pain can be assisted with the problem by them understanding the root cause of the pain and the relevant steps they can take to reverse what the chronic pain has done. With the advancement of neuroscience, scientists believe that there will be better understanding of the condition and therefore better treatments available in the years to come.

Blood pressure is described as the pressure the force of blood applies to the artery walls as it flows through them. It is the pumping action of the heart that causes the blood to be under pressure. Normal blood pressure is an essential function in the workings of the body. Blood pressure is denoted by two numbers, 120/80 being an example (which happens to be considered an average blood pressure reading, by the way), with the first number being the systolic blood pressure, or the pressure when the heart is contracted while pumping the blood, and the second number is the diastolic blood pressure reading which is when the heart is at rest while filling with blood.

Naturally low pressure (usually thought of as lower than 90/60) doesn’t indicate any problems health wise. It could be normal for some people and indeed beneficial as it can lower incidences of stoke and coronary heart disease. It only becomes a problem if it is accompanied by symptoms such as fainting. This is normally caused by an underlying problem which would indicate that the blood pressure is not being regulated properly.

What to do in the case of Low Blood Pressure

If someone has constantly low blood pressure, then this could be classed as normal, however, if they have postural hypotension (blood pressure drops when standing up from a sitting position) or postprandial hypotension (blood pressure drops after eating), could mean there are underlying health problems. These could be taking drugs that are used to treat high blood pressure, illnesses that cause blood loss, diabetes, Addison’s disease (an adrenal gland disease), and early stages of pregnancy.

Treatment of low blood pressure normally depends on the underlying cause of the problem.