Cegah Serangan Jantung di Usia Muda

SERANGAN jantung kini tak hanya menyerang para usia lanjut. Penyakit ini kini juga mulai menyambangi mereka yang berusia muda. Pola hidup tak sehat menjadi salah satu faktor penyebabnya.

Meninggalnya mantan aktor sekaligus anggota DPR Adjie Massaid yang mendadak begitu mencengangkan publik. Kematiannya diduga akibat serangan jantung usai bermain futsal. Pertanyaan besar yang membuncah di masyarakat berkaitan dengan usianya yang relatif masih muda yaitu 43 tahun. Karena seperti anggapan banyak pihak, penyakit jantung lebih banyak diderita orang dengan usia lanjut.

Namun faktanya, kasus kematian mendadak akibat serangan jantung pada usia muda semakin sering terjadi. Kini, tren itu sepertinya akan terus meningkat. Hal ini tak lain karena perubahan gaya hidup yang umumnya dilakoni warga perkotaan. Misalnya gemar mengonsumsi makanan cepat saji atau fast food yang mengandung kolesterol tinggi, jarang berolahraga karena kesibukan, merokok, minum minuman beralkohol serta tingkat stres yang tinggi.

”Karena gaya hidup yang tidak sehat seperti kolesterol yang tinggi, mengakibatkan terjadinya penyumbatan pada pembuluh darah jantung. Sehingga, jantungnya menjadi kaku dan mudah robek. Ketika mendapatkan serangan akhirnya menjadi fatal. Hal itu dapat berlangsung mulai seseorang berusia 30 tahun,” kata Direktur Jakarta Vascular Centre, Dr med Frans Santosa MD.

Dikatakan oleh dokter spesialis jantung dari Rumah Sakit Jantung Nasional Harapan Kita, Jakarta Dr Isman Firdaus SpJP FIHA bahwa, walaupun penyakit jantung frekuensinya lebih tinggi pada orang dengan tingkat usia lanjut, namun seiring berubahnya gaya hidup, penyakit jantung juga dapat terjadi pada semua tingkatan usia.

”Siapa saja bisa terkena serangan jantung, terutama orang yang dengan gaya hidup tidak sehat,” tandasnya.

Jurnal kesehatan Hart and Miller, menyebutkan setidaknya 3 persen kasus stroke akibat penyumbatan pembuluh darah otak diderita pasien di bawah usia 30. Tidak hanya di negara berkembang seperti Indonesia, tetapi juga di negara maju, penderita penyakit jantung semakin banyak diderita di usia muda.

Penyakit jantung koroner (PJK) sebelumnya memang dimonopoli oleh orangtua, terutama mereka yang telah berusia 60 tahun keatas, namun sekarang ini, justru ada kecenderungan juga diderita oleh orang yang berusia dibawah 40 tahun. Sebuah penelitian yang dipimpin oleh Russell Luepker dari University of Minnessota Amerika Serikat membuktikan hal tersebut. Hampir setengah dari partisipan yang meninggal adalah pria di bawah umur 48 tahun.

Serangan jantung terjadi ketika aliran darah ke suatu bagian otot jantung terhalang. Jika aliran darah tidak bisa diperbaiki dengan cepat, bagian dari jantung tersebut akan rusak karena kekurangan oksigen dan bisa mengakibatkan kematian. ”Gejala penyakit jantung koroner biasanya ditandai dengan nyeri dada hebat dan mendadak, yang tidak bisa hilang dengan obat nyeri biasa,” ucap dokter Jantung termuda di Indonesia ini.

Banyak pemicu terjadinya serangan jantung. Di antaranya ialah faktor gaya hidup tidak seimbang seperti olahraga tidak teratur, merokok, stres, kurang istirahat karena rutinitas padat, serta pola makan tidak sehat seperti banyak mengonsumsi gula tidak sesuai dengan porsi yang diharuskan. Bisa juga karena karbohidrat, lemak dan protein inilah yang jika asupannya tidak dikontrol, bisa menyebabkan diabetes yang berujung pada penyakit jantung. Faktor risiko penyakit jantung lainnya adalah unsur bawaan seperti riwayat keluarga, umur, jenis kelamin, dan ras.

”Jantung juga bisa dipicu oleh penyakit lain seperti kolesterol tinggi, hipertensi, kegemukan, dan diabetes mellitus,” papar ahli jantung dari Rumah Sakit Omni Internasional Alam Sutera Tangerang, Dr Dasaad Mulijono SpJP MBBS.

Serangan jantung dijelaskan Dasaad memiliki beberapa gejala selain nyeri dada yang sering disertai dengan penjalaran ke tangan kiri, pasien sering berkeringat, sesak atau perasaan seperti mau pingsan. ”Namun 50 persen dari pasien mempunyai keluhan yang tidak khas,” tandas dokter yang mengambil program kedokteran umum di Universitas Indonesia dengan predikat ”Suma Cum Laude” ini.

Dasaad mengatakan bahwa jantung koroner adalah penyebab kematian utama di kota-kota besar dengan jumlah pasien semakin meningkat dari tahun ke tahun. Akan tetapi, walaupun penyakit tersebut mematikan, namun bukan berarti penyakit ini tidak bisa dicegah, masih ada cara untuk mencegah terjadinya serangan jantung dengan menganut pola hidup sehat serta berobat secara teratur.

”Itu sebabnya, jika pasien kurang yakin akan gejala yang dialaminya, maka untuk memastikannya pasien perlu memeriksakan diri ke rumah sakit untuk diperiksa oleh ahli jantung. Karena jika pasien hanya mengira-ngira dan bisa menyebabkan salah duga, akan berakibat fatal,” jelasnya.

Menghindari faktor risiko adalah hal terpenting agar penyakit ini tidak semakin bertambah parah.
Serangan jantung dapat membunuh hanya dalam waktu kurang dari satu jam, itu sebabnya, tindakan cepat terhadap tanda-tanda serangan jantung akan menyelamatkan nyawa si penderita dan mengurangi bahaya terhadap jantung. Perawatan sangat efektif ketika dimulai dalam satu jam pada awal gejala terdeteksi.

”Serangan jantung bisa menyelamatkan nyawa dan mencegah cacat apabila segera dilakukan perawatan jika dimulai jarak 1 jam setelah awal gejala,” ungkapnya.
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Managing Your Cholesterol - The Best Way To Prevent Hearth Attacks

Cholesterol is one of the most familiar medical words today. Everyone knows “something” about it , but mostly cholesterol is associated in our mind with something “bad” and “unwanted” that happens to old and overweight people.The facts show that about 20 percent of the U.S. population has high blood cholesterol levels.

Actually holesterol is a waxy, fatlike substance (lipid) that your body needs for many important functions, such as producing new cells , some hormones, vitamin D, and the bile acids that help to digest fat.. It is present in cell walls or membranes everywhere in the body, including the brain, nerves, muscle, skin, liver, intestines, and heart.

In fact our bodies need cholesterol to function normally, but too much cholesterol can be bad for our health. Why ? Cholesterol and other fats can't dissolve in the blood. They have to be transported to and from the cells by special carriers. Cholesterol travels through your blood attached to a protein. This cholesterol–protein package is called a lipoprotein. Lipoproteins are high density or low density depending on how much protein there is in relation to fat.

Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) is the major cholesterol carrier in the blood. If too much LDL cholesterol circulates in the blood, it can slowly build up in the walls of the arteries feeding the heart and brain. Together with other substances it can form plaque, a thick, hard deposit that can clog those arteries. When the coronary arteries become narrowed or clogged by cholesterol and fat deposits (a process called atherosclerosis) and cannot supply enough blood to the heart, the result is coronary heart disease. If the blood supply to a portion of the heart is completely cut off by total blockage of a coronary artery, the result is a heart attack. This is usually due to a sudden closure from a blood clot forming on top of a previous narrowing. Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol is called "bad" cholesterol because it can cause cholesterol buildup and blockage of your arteries. LDL is mostly fat with only a small amount of protein.

About one-third to one-fourth of blood cholesterol is carried by high-density lipoprotein (HDL). Medical experts think HDL tends to carry cholesterol away from the arteries and back to the liver, where it's passed from the body. Some experts believe HDL removes excess cholesterol from plaques and thus slows their growth. HDL is called "good" cholesterol because it helps prevent cholesterol from building up in your arteries. It is mostly protein with only a small amount of fat.

Since there is good cholesterol and bad cholesterol it is not only necessary to know your cholesterol level ,it is also important to know your levels of LDL and HDL.

The fact is that there are no symptoms of high cholesterol. Your first symptom of high cholesterol could be a heart attack or a stroke. The level of cholesterol can be measured only with a blood test.The results come as three main numbers:

· Total Cholesterol
· LDL
· HDL

The level of LDL should be less than 160.

Total cholesterol should be less than 200.

The level of HDL should be more than 35.

Most Important: Your LDL level is a good indicator of your risk for heart disease. Lowering LDL is the main aim of treatment if you have high cholesterol. In general, the higher your LDL level, the greater your chance of developing heart disease.

Remember : Regular cholesterol tests are recommended to find out if your cholesterol level is within normal range.

WHAT CAN YOU DO ABOUT YOUR LDL CHOLESTEROL LEVELS?

The main cause of high blood cholesterol is eating too much fat, especially saturated fat. Saturated fats are found in animal products, such as meats, milk and other dairy products that are not fat free, butter, and eggs. Some of these foods are also high in cholesterol. Fried fast foods and snack foods often have a lot of fat.

Being overweight and not exercising can make your bad cholesterol go up and your good cholesterol go down. Regular physical activity can help lower LDL (bad) cholesterol and raise HDL (good) cholesterol levels. It also helps you lose weight. You should try to be physically active for 30 minutes on most, if not all, days.

Cigarette smoking damages the walls of your blood vessels, making them likely to have cholesterol rich plaques rupture and have heart attacks. Smoking may also lower your level of HDL cholesterol by as much as 15 percent.

Also, after women go through menopause, their bad cholesterol levels tend to go up. There is also a rare type of inherited high cholesterol that often leads to early heart disease.Some people inherit a condition called familial hypercholesterolemia, which means that very high cholesterol levels run in the family.Other people, especially people for whom diabetes runs in the family, inherit high triglyceride levels. Triglycerides are another type of blood fat that can also push up cholesterol levels. People with high blood triglycerides usually have lower HDL cholesterol and a higher risk of heart attack and stroke. Progesterone, anabolic steroids and male sex hormones (testosterone) also lower HDL cholesterol levels.

So we can make a conclusion that the main therapy is to change your lifestyle. This includes controlling your weight, eating foods low in saturated fat and cholesterol, exercising regularly, not smoking and, in some cases, drinking less alcohol.

But , depending on your risk factors, if healthy eating and exercise don't work after about 6 months to 1 year, your doctor may suggest medicine to lower your cholesterol level.

Now there are very effective medications called “statins”,such as Lipitor.

The drug works by helping to clear harmful low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol out of the blood and by limiting the body's ability to form new LDL cholesterol. Each tablet Lipitor includes 20mg Atorvastatin. It is in a class of medications called HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors. It works by slowing the production of cholesterol in the body. Lipitor has shown the ability to halt, not just slow, the potentially fatal buildup of plaque in clogged arteries. While a handful of drugs now available slow the buildup of new plaque, or atherosclerosis, in coronary arteries, no drug on the market has been proven to both stop new build-up and clear existing plaque.
by: Richard Clement
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I Have Rheumatoid Arthritis And Am Worried About Heart Attack Risk...

If you have rheumatoid arthritis, you should be worried about risk from cardiovascular events. That includes both heart attacks and strokes.

Women with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have high rates of non fatal heart attacks. This occurs even without traditional risk factors being present. (Solomon, et al. Circulation 2003; 107: 1303-1307). The same is probably true for men with RA as well.

In addition multiple studies have demonstrated the increased risk of stroke occurring in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Presence of intimal plaque (atherosclerosis in the inner walls of the carotid arteries) has been used as a surrogate marker of arterial disease elsewhere.

The conclusions drawn from multiple studies are that RA is an extremely potent risk factor for the development of atherosclerosis. More aggressive goals for risk factor modification should be instituted.

It’s important to assess all risk factors in patients with RA. Control of hyperlipidemia and high blood pressure is mandatory. Dietary measures are primary. If dietary changes don’t work, then statin therapy maybe needed. These drugs lower LDL cholesterol (“bad” cholesterol) and reduce levels of C-reactive protein. If a patient has diabetes, tight control of blood sugar is extremely important.

Discontinuation of cigarette smoking and proper weight management are important.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients could reduce their cardiovascular risk by spending more time walking.

Physical inactivity and sedentary behavior contribute to the risk of cardiovascular disease but little is known about energy expenditure from lifestyle physical activity in RA patients.

A recent study compared energy expenditure from exercise and lifestyle activities between 122 RA patients and 122 healthy controls.

At the beginning of the study, RA patients spent fewer kilocalories per week walking, exercising and participating in sports than did controls, the authors report.

Similar percentages of RA patients and controls met their recommended thresholds for total weekly energy expenditure, but the percent of RA patients meeting the recommended threshold for walking (32%) was notably lower than controls (48%).

At follow-up an average of 14 months later, RA patients continued to expend fewer kilocalories per week overall and were less likely to meet the threshold for walking, compared with controls.

"This study provides evidence that despite the fact that walking is an excellent lifestyle activity and it is markedly underutilized in RA patients," the authors note. "Our study supports the development and implementation of interventions to foster walking as part of a program to address cardiovascular risk in RA patients." (Mancuso C, et al. Arthritis Rheum 2007; 57:672-678).

Aspirin therapy has been shown to be effective prophylaxis for men and some studies also indicate its potential effectiveness in women.

In the final analysis, it must be mentioned that the most potent weapon against the increase in cardiovascular mortality is tight control of the rheumatoid arthritis- getting the disease into remission. Fortunately, the advent of first, second, and third generation biologic medicines have made this a reality.
by: Nathan Wei
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Anxiety and Stress – A Risk of Heart Attack?

One of the most common questions asked with reference to anxiety and stress is whether or not these conditions cause heart disease.

Panic attacks usually involve sudden development of emotions such as anxiety, fear or extreme feeling of discomfort. These emotions are followed by some additional symptoms.

Panic attacks have always been associated to cardiovascular risks such as anger, depression and even hostility. Hypertension is yet another symptom associated to panic attacks. Anxiety or stress is known to add up to adverse effects of cardiovascular problems including enhanced blood clotting tendency, coronary artery spasm or heart rhythm disturbances.

Does stress actually increases the risk of heart attack?

According to a recent research it has been indicated that people with stress or panic disorders tend to possess a more active coagulation System and inhibited fibrinolysis. The result was not expected as there was no injury other than some breaks in the skin occurred due to blood sampling.

This clearly indicates that the clotting was unbalanced. This can be quite dangerous because a coronary artery may get blocked in extreme cases. However, the levels of coagulation measured were just within the range considered normal.

This research came up with an explanation of a data displaying. People with stress or panic disorder being four times more prone to die of a heart attack or stroke. Hence, when there are several other factors including smoking or obesity to enhance the risk of heart disease, a stress disorder can enhance the balance of coagulation further to danger zone.

It is very important to diagnose stress or anxiety disorder as soon as possible. Treatment given at an early stage tends to inhibit the chances of any kind of heart disease.

Anxiety or stress is also known to make a patient get a feeling like heart attack due to rapid pulse and shortness of breath. According to a study of more than three thousand older women, it is suggested that shortness of breath or rapid pulse experienced due to stress may evoke a feeling similar to heart attack and even result in serious heart troubles in the long run.

Studies have also revealed that women who have experienced a full blown panic or stress attack in 6 months were more vulnerable to stroke or heart attack as compared to those who didn´t experienced stress or panic attack.

The researchers also considered a lot of other risk factors such as high blood pressure, smoking, depression and in activity. However, they still came to a conclusion that stress and panic attack enhanced risks of heart related disease.

Women undergoing symptoms of post menopause tend to take a lot of stress and this is known to be one of the major causes of cardiovascular risk. Mental stress is always bad for health and may result in a lot of adverse effects.

A lot of scientific evidences have suggested that metal stress tend to affect the cardiovascular System adversely. Tasks promoting stress can result in blood flow decrease to the heart that ultimately result in a lot of heart related diseases such as a heart attack.
by: Bertil Hjer
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Margarine: Low IQ and Heart Attacks

Margarine lowers the IQ of children. I know it sounds completely arrogant but it is true. According to researchers at the University of Auckland, children who ate margarine every day had significantly lower IQ scores by...

the age of three-and-a-half than those who did not (1). The saddest thing is that margarine is promoted to be a healthy alternative to butter which not true. Margarine is an artificial product that has been heavily processed and chemically refined. Due to these procedures it goes through it has acquired serious toxic and inflammatory properties. The vegetable oils used in most margarine are hydrogenated to make them solid. This turns the oil into highly unhealthy trans-fatty acids. These man-made fatty acids have been shown to raise “bad” cholesterol (LDL) and lower “good” cholesterol (HDL). They have also been linked to inflammation, one of the major causes of heart disease (2).

In another study, people were tracked for 20 years and the number of heart attacks was recorded and analysed (3). Data from the Framingham Study backed up this particular project. The results are in complete disagreement with everything we have been told so far. As margarine consumption increased, heart attacks went up. As butter consumption increased, heart attacks declined. During the second decade, the group eating the most margarine had 77% more heart attacks than the group eating none!

The Framingham Study is considered to be the research project backing up the conventional theories for heart disease and cholesterol for many decades now. After 40 years, the director of the Framingham Study admitted: "In Framingham, the more saturated fat one ate, the more cholesterol one ate, the more calories one ate, the lower the person's serum cholesterol. . . we found that the people who ate the most cholesterol, ate the most saturated fat, ate the most calories, weighed the least and were the most physically active."

I guess that the point to take home from the above studies, is that things are not always the way they are presented by the media. It has become imperative to be very careful when we choose our sources of information concerning health issues.

References

1.Theodore, RF., Thompson, JMD., et al. Dietary patterns and intelligence in early and middle childhood, Intelligence. 2009; 37(5):506-513

2.C. Oomen, M. Ocke, et al, “Association between trans fatty acid intake and 10-year risk of coronary heart disease in the Zutphen Elderly Study: The Lancet, Volume 357, Issue 9258, Pages 746-751

3.“Margarine Intake and Subsequent Coronary Heart Disease in Men.” Matthew W. Gillman, L. Adrienne Cupples, et al. Epidemiology Vol. 8, No. 2 (Mar., 1997), pp. 144-149
by: Helen Davies
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