Why Do The Majority of Heart Attacks Occur when blockages are LESS THAN 50%?
Watch this video explaining this process:
Imagine your kitchen sink pipes are getting blocked. When is the first time you notice it? When it is not draining properly or not at all. Well your arteries are NOT pipes. They are a muscle. And the best type of heart disease to have is when your arteries are blocked where blood flow is not getting through very well. WHY? Because you will experience symptoms of this called, angina. This can be chest, back, jaw, arm or neck discomfort or pain. It could also be indigestion, fatigue or shortness or breath. Basically, you are getting a nice warning sign that your heart is demanding oxygen.
The worst type of heart disease to have is when you have a blockage that is about 50% or less, that you cannot feel, because blood is flowing. All blockages are protected by a small lining. Some linings are thick and some are small. Imagine the blockage and this lining like a pimple on your face. The pimple on your face is protected by your skin. Now the majority of heart attacks occur with smaller blockages. Imagine this pimple is inside your artery. I am sure we have had that pimple on our face that has popped. All this puss from the pimple squirts out along with some blood. This is what is happening in our arteries when you are having a heart attack. A small blockage breaks through the protection and now leaks all its contents and bleeds at the side of the blockage. So now, we have a blockage that was not noticeable, because it was small, to a full blown 100% blockage.
Your body does a great job a trying to protect itself but the best thing you can do in this situation is to call 911 and get to the hospital ASAP. Now the goal is to give you clot-busters and perhaps open this artery with a stent. A stent is a metal like structure that gets inserted into your heart arteries to open this blockage up as quick as possible.
