11
Signs You Might Be Headed For a Heart Attack
Claire Nowak
Your mood, sleep schedule, and even your
neighborhood could be putting your ticker in trouble.
You get angry over the littlest things
iStock/PeopleImages
Tend to morph into the Hulk when you’re upset?
Those fiery emotions can drastically increase your risk for a heart attack.
Researchers at the University of Australia questioned 313 patients who had
suffered suspected heart attacks about their anger levels before the onset of
symptoms. They found that patients were 8.5 times more likely to have a heart
attack in the two hours following an intense outburst of anger, defined as
“very angry, body tense, clenching fists or teeth.” The more often you’re
angry, the higher your chances for a heart attack.
You spend most of your time in front of a screen
iStock/vgajic
Yes, that includes working on your computer. A
study from the University College London reports that people who watch TV or
work on a computer for four or more hours a day increase their risk of an event
associated with cardiovascular disease, like a heart attack, by 125 percent.
Long periods of sitting deplete the body’s supply of lipoprotein lipase, an
enzyme that breaks down fat and prevents clogged arteries. If you spend most of
your day plopped behind a desk, take a brief walk after every 20 minutes or try
a standing desk. You can burn 30 percent more calories when you stand than when
you sit. Don’t miss these 15 doctor-approved tips to prevent heart disease.
You log less than six hours of sleep each night
iStock/klebercordeiro
Many adults struggle to get the recommended
seven to nine hours of sleep each night, but consistently missing that mark
could be deadly. A study published in the Scandinavian Journal of Work,
Environment & Health found that Japanese men who got less than six
hours of sleep were five times more likely to have a heart attack than men who
slept seven or eight hours a night. Another study from Jichi Medical School in
Tochigi, Japan, found the same risk applied to Japanese women who got less than
six hours of sleep.
You live in a smoggy area
iStock/trekandshoot
Smog is just as bad for your heart as it is
for your lungs. Researchers used hourly air pollution measurements in South
Boston to determine how exposure to particulate matter (small combustion
particles that come from fuel burning and vehicle emissions) affected patients
in this area who had heart attacks. They found that exposure to high
concentrations of air pollution increased the likelihood of a heart attack by
48 percent in the two hours before patients first experienced heart attack
symptoms. The risk went up to 69 percent when people were exposed to high
levels of air pollution for 24 hours before the onset of symptoms. Check out
the Environmental Protection Agency’s website to
see how smog affects your neighborhood. Here are 9 more things you should know about heart attacks before
you have one.
It’s Daylight Saving Time
iStock/monkeybusinessimages
When researchers examined three years of
Michigan hospital records to track the number of heart attacks that required
stent insertions, they found that the frequency of these procedures fluctuated
when Daylight Saving Time started and ended. On the Monday after “springing
ahead” an hour, there was an 24 percent increase in heart attacks. (However, on
the Tuesday after “falling back,” there were 21 percent fewer daily heart
attacks). Since the total heart attack counts for those weeks were not
drastically different from other weeks, researchers determined that the time
changes didn’t necessarily make the heart attacks happen, but rather made them
likely to occur sooner than they otherwise would have. This is probably due to
disrupted sleep-wake cycles and increased stress at the start of a new week of
work.
You’re divorced
iStock/NubiaPEisenlohr
Divorce can cause literal heartache.
Researchers at the Duke University School of Medicine conducted an
18-year-study of nearly 16,000 men and women between the ages of 45 and 80 who
had been married at least once. Every two years, researchers assessed the
participants’ marital status and overall health. Divorced women were 25 percent
more likely to have a heart attack than those who stayed married. Women who had
two or more divorces were 77 percent more likely to have a heart attack. As for
the men, the risk of heart attack stayed the same regardless of whether they
were married or divorced—at first. But if they divorced at least twice, their
heart attack risk increased by 30 percent. Here are 8 more sneaky heart attack symptoms women always ignore.
You live in an area with extreme temperatures
iStock/kieferpix
Studies show that both extreme cold and
extreme heat can put people at risk for heart attacks. Using data from cardiac
patients in the Worcester Heart Attack Study, scientists found that exposure to
temperatures lower than 17º F in the two days prior to a heart attack increased
patients’ risk by 36 percent. On the other end of the spectrum, British
researchers found that once the temperature reaches 68º F, each increase of
1.8º F increased the risk of heart attack by 2 percent over the next one to six
hours. On the first day of a hot spell, that risk jumps up to 6.5 percent per
1.8º F increase.
You lived through a natural disaster
NOAA HANDOUT/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock
Experiencing a hurricane or earthquake
devastate your hometown not only affects you mentally and emotionally but
physically as well. Researchers at Tulane Medical Centerin
New Orleans studied the number of patients that were admitted with
heart-related problems in the years after Hurricane Katrina hit the area in
2005. They found that the number of people admitted to the hospital for heart
attacks increased three-fold in the ten years after Katrina, compared to the
number of admissions in 2003 and 2004. Patients were also more likely to have
heart attack risk factors after the hurricane, including high blood pressure,
coronary artery disease, and diabetes. Don’t miss these things heart doctors do to protect their own hearts.
You didn’t go to college
A StockStudio/Shutterstock
The four or more years you spend in college
may be good for more than a diploma. A study published in the International Journal for Equity in Health analyzed
data from more than 267,000 Australian men and women. The results showed that
people with no certifications or degrees were more than twice at risk of a
heart attack compared to those with a university degree or higher. Bottom line:
The more time you spend in school, the lower your risk for a heart attack.
You got the flu
eldar nurkovic/Shutterstock
The American College of Cardiology has
long recommended that those with heart disease get annual flu shots, but new
research shows just how important that shot is. New research published in
the New England Journal of Medicine looked
at 364 people hospitalized for heart attacks and found that they were six times
more likely to have a heart attack in the week after being infected with the
flu. If you’re feeling under the weather, look out for these 7 silent signs you’re having a heart attack.
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Your mother had a heart attack
Dmytro Zinkevych/Shutterstock
Or maybe it was your father, or grandparent,
or siblings. No matter which relative it was, the American Heart Association
says that heart disease and risk factors for heart disease are strongly linked
to family history. There are at least 67 sites in the DNA sequence, or
variants, that can increase your risk of a heart attack, and as Dr.
Pradeep Natarajan, director of preventive medicine at Massachusetts General
Hospital, told Harvard Health Publishing,
“Each of these variants raises the relative risk of cardiovascular disease by
about 10%. But if you have a number of them, it adds up.” The good news is,
having a family history of heart attacks don’t guarantee you will have one.
Actively maintaining a healthy lifestyle can lower your overall risk. Start
with these 30 proven ways to reduce your risk of heart disease.
Reader Interactions
11
Signs You Might Be Headed For a Heart Attack
Claire Nowak
Your mood, sleep schedule, and even your
neighborhood could be putting your ticker in trouble.
You get angry over the littlest things
iStock/PeopleImages
Tend to morph into the Hulk when you’re upset?
Those fiery emotions can drastically increase your risk for a heart attack.
Researchers at the University of Australia questioned 313 patients who had
suffered suspected heart attacks about their anger levels before the onset of
symptoms. They found that patients were 8.5 times more likely to have a heart
attack in the two hours following an intense outburst of anger, defined as
“very angry, body tense, clenching fists or teeth.” The more often you’re
angry, the higher your chances for a heart attack.
You spend most of your time in front of a screen
iStock/vgajic
Yes, that includes working on your computer. A
study from the University College London reports that people who watch TV or
work on a computer for four or more hours a day increase their risk of an event
associated with cardiovascular disease, like a heart attack, by 125 percent.
Long periods of sitting deplete the body’s supply of lipoprotein lipase, an
enzyme that breaks down fat and prevents clogged arteries. If you spend most of
your day plopped behind a desk, take a brief walk after every 20 minutes or try
a standing desk. You can burn 30 percent more calories when you stand than when
you sit. Don’t miss these 15 doctor-approved tips to prevent heart disease.
You log less than six hours of sleep each night
iStock/klebercordeiro
Many adults struggle to get the recommended
seven to nine hours of sleep each night, but consistently missing that mark
could be deadly. A study published in the Scandinavian Journal of Work,
Environment & Health found that Japanese men who got less than six
hours of sleep were five times more likely to have a heart attack than men who
slept seven or eight hours a night. Another study from Jichi Medical School in
Tochigi, Japan, found the same risk applied to Japanese women who got less than
six hours of sleep.
You live in a smoggy area
iStock/trekandshoot
Smog is just as bad for your heart as it is
for your lungs. Researchers used hourly air pollution measurements in South
Boston to determine how exposure to particulate matter (small combustion
particles that come from fuel burning and vehicle emissions) affected patients
in this area who had heart attacks. They found that exposure to high
concentrations of air pollution increased the likelihood of a heart attack by 48
percent in the two hours before patients first experienced heart attack
symptoms. The risk went up to 69 percent when people were exposed to high
levels of air pollution for 24 hours before the onset of symptoms. Check out
the Environmental Protection Agency’s website to
see how smog affects your neighborhood. Here are 9 more things you should know about heart attacks before
you have one.
It’s Daylight Saving Time
iStock/monkeybusinessimages
When researchers examined three years of
Michigan hospital records to track the number of heart attacks that required
stent insertions, they found that the frequency of these procedures fluctuated
when Daylight Saving Time started and ended. On the Monday after “springing
ahead” an hour, there was an 24 percent increase in heart attacks. (However, on
the Tuesday after “falling back,” there were 21 percent fewer daily heart
attacks). Since the total heart attack counts for those weeks were not
drastically different from other weeks, researchers determined that the time
changes didn’t necessarily make the heart attacks happen, but rather made them
likely to occur sooner than they otherwise would have. This is probably due to
disrupted sleep-wake cycles and increased stress at the start of a new week of
work.
You’re divorced
iStock/NubiaPEisenlohr
Divorce can cause literal heartache.
Researchers at the Duke University School of Medicine conducted an
18-year-study of nearly 16,000 men and women between the ages of 45 and 80 who
had been married at least once. Every two years, researchers assessed the
participants’ marital status and overall health. Divorced women were 25 percent
more likely to have a heart attack than those who stayed married. Women who had
two or more divorces were 77 percent more likely to have a heart attack. As for
the men, the risk of heart attack stayed the same regardless of whether they
were married or divorced—at first. But if they divorced at least twice, their
heart attack risk increased by 30 percent. Here are 8 more sneaky heart attack symptoms women always ignore.
You live in an area with extreme temperatures
iStock/kieferpix
Studies show that both extreme cold and
extreme heat can put people at risk for heart attacks. Using data from cardiac
patients in the Worcester Heart Attack Study, scientists found that exposure to
temperatures lower than 17º F in the two days prior to a heart attack increased
patients’ risk by 36 percent. On the other end of the spectrum, British
researchers found that once the temperature reaches 68º F, each increase of
1.8º F increased the risk of heart attack by 2 percent over the next one to six
hours. On the first day of a hot spell, that risk jumps up to 6.5 percent per
1.8º F increase.
You lived through a natural disaster
NOAA HANDOUT/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock
Experiencing a hurricane or earthquake
devastate your hometown not only affects you mentally and emotionally but
physically as well. Researchers at Tulane Medical Centerin
New Orleans studied the number of patients that were admitted with
heart-related problems in the years after Hurricane Katrina hit the area in
2005. They found that the number of people admitted to the hospital for heart
attacks increased three-fold in the ten years after Katrina, compared to the
number of admissions in 2003 and 2004. Patients were also more likely to have
heart attack risk factors after the hurricane, including high blood pressure,
coronary artery disease, and diabetes. Don’t miss these things heart doctors do to protect their own hearts.
You didn’t go to college
A StockStudio/Shutterstock
The four or more years you spend in college
may be good for more than a diploma. A study published in the International Journal for Equity in Health analyzed
data from more than 267,000 Australian men and women. The results showed that
people with no certifications or degrees were more than twice at risk of a
heart attack compared to those with a university degree or higher. Bottom line:
The more time you spend in school, the lower your risk for a heart attack.
You got the flu
eldar nurkovic/Shutterstock
The American College of Cardiology has
long recommended that those with heart disease get annual flu shots, but new
research shows just how important that shot is. New research published in
the New England Journal of Medicine looked
at 364 people hospitalized for heart attacks and found that they were six times
more likely to have a heart attack in the week after being infected with the
flu. If you’re feeling under the weather, look out for these 7 silent signs you’re having a heart attack.
Your mother had a heart attack
Dmytro Zinkevych/Shutterstock
Or maybe it was your father, or grandparent,
or siblings. No matter which relative it was, the American Heart Association
says that heart disease and risk factors for heart disease are strongly linked
to family history. There are at least 67 sites in the DNA sequence, or
variants, that can increase your risk of a heart attack, and as Dr.
Pradeep Natarajan, director of preventive medicine at Massachusetts General
Hospital, told Harvard Health Publishing,
“Each of these variants raises the relative risk of cardiovascular disease by
about 10%. But if you have a number of them, it adds up.” The good news is,
having a family history of heart attacks don’t guarantee you will have one.
Actively maintaining a healthy lifestyle can lower your overall risk. Start
with these 30 proven ways to reduce your risk of heart disease.
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