How to Spot Three Deadly Vascular Diseases
When you buy health insurance, you buy peace of mind, and for many Americans, that piece of mind is important. Heart disease is a growing epidemic, and since it can strike anyone at any time, it’s important to know the earliest signs of heart attack, cardiac arrest, and stroke. Acting quickly could save paramedics precious seconds, so let’s go over the distinguishing features of each of these common killers.
Cardiac Arrest – When the Heart Stops Beating
Your brain tells your heart when to beat by sending electrical pulses throughout your extremities, and when that signal is interrupted, the heart can experience arrhythmia, or an irregular heartbeat. In severe cases, the signal can stop altogether, stopping the heart’s beating entirely. If someone suffers cardiac arrest, they could be dead within minutes, so time is of the essence. The immediate signs are gasping, absence of breath, and unresponsiveness.
Heart Attack – When Blood Can’t Reach the Heart
Heart attacks, while similar in presentation, are caused by a completely different problem inside the body. When cholesterol and plague build up in your body’s blood vessels, one or more regions of the heart can be deprived of the essential blood they need. Heart attacks cause more damage as more time passes, so it’s incredibly important to call for help as soon as possible. Saving someone from a heart attack is a matter of minutes and seconds. Symptoms include chest pressure or tightness, pain in the arms, upper back, neck, and jaw, shortness of breath, nausea, and cold sweats. The person suffering likely won’t lose consciousness, but time is still of the essence.
Both of the diseases we’ve mentioned so far are caused in part by your family’s history of heart disease and your own habits of consuming food, alcohol, and tobacco. An important precaution you can take for your health is purchasing an affordable health insurance plan. Help when you need it most is invaluable.
Stroke – When Blood Can’t Reach the Brain
When a blood clot blocks the blood vessels leading to the brain, a stroke has occurred and the clock is ticking. The leading cause of long-term disability in the US is the damage of a stroke, and that damage starts as soon as blood flow stops. A stroke can cause immense brain damage and paralysis, and if left untreated, will likely lead to death. Symptoms include dizziness, confusion, numbness, and trouble speaking. This is the most fast-acting of the three and should be treated with extreme haste.
Heart disease is the leading cause of death in both male and female Americans, and the obesity epidemic has only made things worse. The most important thing you can do to prevent heart attack, cardiac arrest, and stroke is to make positive lifestyle choices in diet and exercise. We also must stress the importance of having a safety net. Even a cheap health insurance plan can save you from financial ruin when disaster strikes, and for a low monthly fee, you could enjoy the certainty that if the worst should happen, someone will be there to help.
