ace comedian and actor Raju Srivastava had a heart attack training at the gym. But he’s not the first news of its kind. There have been many cases of people dying on the treadmill, and even football players collapsing while playing.
“Recently, there have been reports of apparently healthy people suddenly having heart attacks. exercise on a treadmill or doing other forms of strenuous exercise. This sounds counterintuitive because exercise is known to promote heart health and prevent heart attacks. While such cases may vary, there are some general facts that help explain this apparent paradox,” Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI).
Understanding plaque rupture
Describing these sudden episodes, Dr. Reddy said: Chronic occlusion of more than 70 percent of the coronary arteries causes angina pectoris or chest pain on exertion because the available blood supply cannot meet the increased oxygen demands of the body and strained heart during exercise. However, a heart attack (acute myocardial infarction) can occur when soft plaque that forms in a coronary artery ruptures and forms a large clot. This may occur without prior warning symptoms. Even 30% of plaques can rupture and cause the formation of large occlusive thrombi. ”
So how are plaques formed? “Plaques form in the coronary arteries due to damage caused to the intima by factors that cause inflammation. High blood pressure, smoking, diabetes, unhealthy diet, stress, lack of sleep, or recent infections. Circulating fat deposits at the site of injury and causes plaque to grow Each of these chronic causes of inflammation can lead to a heart attack if one or more of these factors are suddenly or severely elevated. Strenuous exercise can also cause plaque rupture and electrical disturbances in the heart that can lead to cardiac arrest.
early morning surge
Most of these episodes occur early in the morning. “We usually have a spike in blood pressure in the early morning, and that’s part of our evolutionary biology. When you can’t sleep, you’re dehydrated, and you get up for strenuous exercise, plaque instability can lead to rupture and cause large clot formation,” explains Dr. Reddy.
exercise is not bad
This does not mean that exercise is bad for your heart. “It is imperative to detect and control the risk factors that cause plaque to form and rupture in the coronary arteries. India has an ethnic susceptibility to experience heart attacks at a younger age than other population groups for several reasons. People need more care and attention.
cardiac death
Sudden cardiac death during strenuous exercise, such as strenuous treadmilling or shoveling snow, occurs in the setting of known heart occlusion or, more often, underlying coronary artery disease or occlusion of an undiagnosed heart artery. If the patient is resuscitated in this situation, it can have better outcomes compared to sudden stoppage (heart failure) at rest, when the heart is usually weak.”
“When the treadmill is run at very high speeds or inclines, it has the dual effect of heart rate and blood pressure being determinants of the heart’s oxygen demand. , can cause undue stress to compromised cardiac circulation in the setting of cardiac occlusion, causing sudden arrhythmias, excessive hypotension, or heart attack.Such persons should be evaluated urgently with coronary angiography. patients should undergo appropriate revascularization procedures, such as stent placement, according to current guidelines,” Dr. Bhandari adds.
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