Twenty years ago my dad went to bed with pressure in his abdomen. he thought it was gas so he popped some antacids and tried to sleep. But the pressure grew and became unbearable. My mom found him pale and pacing the bedroom some hours later.

She called 9-1-1 and told the operator that my father had probably had a heart attack, but because he had abdominal pain, doctors did not initially treat him for that. Hours were lost. My father died. the cause was a heart attack.

It is a dreadful moment not unlike what many others have faced. when exactly is the pain you are experiencing evidence of a heart attack? the good news is that what happened to my family wouldn’t happen today.

Yes, symptoms still get misread but there has been a lot of progress made in technology and the way doctors approach heart disease in recent years.

“I’m always hammering into my nurses that as far as I’m concerned, anything from the pelvis up to the neck is a heart attack until proven otherwise,” says Dr. Santo Polito, interventional cardiologist and medical director of cardiovascular services at Glendale Memorial Hospital and Health Center.

A heart attack is sudden and intense, and in the lead-up, men and women often experience different warning signs. it could be a crushing pressure-like discomfort in the chest associated with shortness of breath, cold sweats and vomiting or unexplainable flu-like symptoms with no chest pain whatsoever as in 70 percent of all heart attacks in women.

According to the American Heart Association, it kills more women each year than men. in fact it’s the no. 1 killer of women 65 and older. part of the reason is that women’s symptoms are often subtle or their pain occurs in areas not typically associated with a heart attack, such as the jaw or the abdomen.

Men’s symptoms can be just as misleading.

Whatever the symptoms, the no. 1 rule of thumb says Dr. Raluca Arimie, a cardiologist at Northridge Hospital Medical Center, is to get it checked out.

Chest pain doesn’t always signal a heart attack, which happens to be the subject of Arimie’s upcoming seminar at Northridge Hospital on Feb. 24. Dubbed “What’s That Crushing Feeling in My Chest,” she offers a range of culprits, from indigestion and muscle strain to angina (when a portion of the heart isn’t getting enough oxygenated blood).

Of course angina can range in severity, from mild to a precursor of a heart attack. given the statistics it’s best to check it with your doctor.

“Even if it’s not a heart attack it could be a pulmonary embolism (sudden blockage of the lung artery), it could be arrhythmia (an irregular heart beat) or it could be something else significant,” she says.

It could also be a false alarm.

Emergency rooms are often filled with people (and mostly men) who think they’ve had a heart attack. It’s for that reason, Glendale Memorial Hospital created the Chest Pain Center – the only accredited center of its kind in the region.

The center opened more than a year ago in a separate room in the emergency department. according to Polito, an average of 40 people per month come into the center, where they are immediately given an electrocardiogram (a test to check the heart’s electrical activity), followed by a blood test.

Another blood test is done two hours later with all the testing and analysis done at bedside. if there are any doubts about the results doctors follow up with a stress test (a measure of the blood flow to the heart both at rest and during exercise through imaging).

In four to eight hours after walking through the center’s door, a patient knows if it’s cardiac related. if there is no problem (as is the case 99 percent of the time) the person is released with instructions to follow up with his or her primary care physician about other causes.

Right now there are two beds with plans for another four “barcaloungers” and televisions to help patients pass the time between tests at the center.

But no one is bedridden here.

“We’ve created a different environment that’s not so scary and it’s not so onerous,” says Polito, who began envisioning the center five years ago. “We’re helping people the way we should.

“And because you’re in the Chest Pain Center, you don’t run up a huge bill like you would in the hospital,” he says, adding other hospitals are looking to follow Glendale’s lead.

For now their big push is educating the public about the ways to prevent heart disease through proper diet, exercise and clean living.

As Arimie says, “once heart disease is there we can only treat it but we cannot cure it. So the more we learn the better off we are.”

What: Dr. Raluca Arimie, a Northridge Hospital cardiologist, talks about the many causes of chest pain and when to call 9-1-1.

Where: 5th Floor Penthouse Auditorium at Northridge Hospital Medical Center, 18300 Roscoe Blvd., Northridge.

When: 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 24

Admission: Free, but registration is required. Call 818-734-4870 to register.

What: Northridge Hospital cardiologists Dr. Raluca Arimie and Dr. Jahandar Saleh host a night of pampering and health screenings (cholesterol and blood pressure) for ladies only. Includes manicures, eyebrow shaping and hair styling. Hors d’oeuvres and refreshments will also be served.

Where: Education Auditorium at Northridge Hospital Medical Center, 18300 Roscoe Blvd., Northridge.

When: 6 to 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 23.

Admission: Free, but registration is required. Call 818-885-3547.

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Heartburn or Acid reflux can sound like a simple digestive problem that can strike after a heavy meal or sometimes while sleeping. This is true for those who suffer from mild heartburn; when you suffer just once a month or even less from acid reflux.

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Nighttime heartburn affects millions of people around the world. The symptoms of nighttime heartburn are not only painful and discomforting.

Did you know that your diet could be the reason for your reoccurring heartburn? In fact if you want to begin to treat your acid reflux you must begin with your diet. Discover over 20 foods that cause acid reflux and what will cure acid reflux.

With the known side effects of pharmaceutical drugs more people are looking for natural cures for high blood pressure. If you have been diagnosed with high blood pressure you may need to take prescribed medication to correct the problem.

The spasmodic and frequently repetitive contraction which is spasmodic originating from the thoracic cavity. Clinically referred to as a tussis this is too well familiarly realized as a cough. The distinctive sound as well as the sensation of the cough is violent as air is released from the lungs. As the body takes action in eradicating such substances of irritation to the air passages the action of coughing occurs. As phlegm has built up within the trachea initiation of the cough engages.

Our stomach contains natural acids. This acid is required for breaking down food substances which sorts them to the right places. while we are eating the presence of proper stomach acid is required for proper digestion of the food.

The best acid reflux and heart burn cure may be prevention. someone said “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”. but even people who are very careful about what they eat may experience heart burn problems from time to time.

Article from articlesbase.com

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