Back Pain and Heart Attacks

It must be emphasized that back pain and heart attacks are not necessarily always partners in crime, so to speak.

Still, you must never disregard back pain when it is accompanied by chest pain radiating into the arms, shoulders and arms, by breathlessness even while at rest, by cold and clammy sweat, by dizziness, anxiety and nausea, and by heart palpitations. You might be suffering from a heart attack and it is important to seek immediate medical attention.

Causes

But first, let's discuss the causes of heart attacks, of which there are two. First, one or more of your heart's arteries will become blocked with cholesterol buildup, no thanks to a fatty diet and lack of exercise. This is called plaque that, in time, can rupture and lead to the formation of a blood clot on the rupture point. Technically speaking, the blood clot is now called coronary artery disease, which just so happens to be the leading cause of back pain and heart attacks.

Second, one of the coronary arteries can go into spasms and shut down blood flow into the heart, thus, causing heart attacks. Although this is uncommon, it is nevertheless the most fatal especially when cocaine use is in the equation.

Keep in mind, too, that the symptoms of heart attack do not necessarily manifest so suddenly. It can take several hours for the cycle to reach its fatal completion but before that time comes, you must have recognized the signs and then rushed to the hospital for appropriate treatment.

Treatments

Once in the hospital, you can be treated to either medications or surgically invasive procedures or both. The treatment protocol applied varies on the severity of the heart attack, your physical condition and age. Regardless of the treatment protocol, however, the primary aim in treating heart attacks is to restore sufficient blood flow to the heart.

The first line of defense is medications, which are primarily blood thinners and pain relievers, thus:

* Aspirin is provided almost as soon as you are admitted to the emergency room due to its ability to lessen blood clotting, which helps in restoring blood flow to an already blocked artery.

* Thrombolytics help dissolve the clots in your heart, thus, lessening the damage to it.

* Superaspirins like clopidogrel act like aspirins albeit in a more powerful manner.

* Heparin and other blood thinners may also be administered to hasten the process of blood flow restoration.

Other medications include pain relievers such as morphine, beta blockers to relax the heart muscles, and cholesterol-lowering medications. You must never attempt to self-treat even when you are a licensed medical practitioner because a heart attack can make you confused, thus, leading to more harm than good.

If all else fails, your doctor will decide to administer any of the invasive surgical procedures to resolve the problem. These procedures include coronary angioplasty and stenting as well as coronary artery bypass surgery.

Still, there is nothing like preventive measures such as lifestyle changes to ensure that you are at a lesser risk of back pain and heart attacks but that's for another article altogether.

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