How To Differentiate Heartburn From Heart Attack?

Heartburn is a symptom of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) that is caused by gastric acid flowing backwards into the oesophagus. It often occurs after eating and gets worse after bending over or lying down. It is also common in pregnant women, and might be triggered by consuming food in large quantities, or specific foods containing certain spices, high fat content, or high acid content.

During heartburn, there will be a burning feeling in the chest, just behind the breastbone or in the epigastrium, the upper central abdomen. The pain usually rises in the chest and may radiate to the neck, throat, or angle of the jaw. Often, there is a sour taste in the mouth or a feeling of food being stuck in the throat.

Heart attack, on the other hand, happens when the flow of oxygen-rich blood to a section of heart muscle suddenly becomes blocked and the heart could not get oxygen. If blood flow is not restored quickly, the section of heart muscle begins to die. Heart attack occurs as a result of coronary heart disease, and it can be associated with or lead to severe health problems like heart failure and life-threatening arrhythmias.

Victims of heart attack can have symptoms such as chest pain or discomfort, feeling pain or discomfort in one or both arms, the back, shoulders, neck, jaw, or upper part of the stomach, and shortness of breath. They can have other symptoms like breaking out in a cold sweat, feeling unusually tired for no reason, nausea (feeling sick to the stomach) and vomiting, and light-headedness or sudden dizziness.

Clearly, heartburn and chest pain or a heart attack can feel very similar. It is not easy to differentiate heartburn from heart attack just based on a medical history and physical examination.

In a group of people presenting to a hospital with GERD symptoms, only 0.6 percent might be due to ischemic heart disease. Up to 30 percent of chest pain patients who have undergone cardiac catheterization have findings that do not account for their chest discomfort. They are often defined as having atypical chest pain or chest pain of undetermined cause. According to data recorded in several studies based on ambulatory pH and pressure monitoring, it is estimated that between 25 percent and 50 percent of these patients have evidence of abnormal GERD.

As a rule of thumb, if a person has symptoms of a heartburn that is accompanied by other symptoms like shortness of breath, radiation of the pain to the arm or back, giddiness or cold sweats, he or she should seek help from a doctor immediately. He or she might be victim of heart attack, especially if he or she has risk factors for coronary heart disease such as hypercholesterolemia or the presence of high levels of cholesterol in the blood, hypertension, diabetes, smoking and family history of heart disease.

Drugs Combination Could Raise The Risk of Another Heart Attack!

It is common practice for doctors to prescribe blood-thinning medication such as Plavix or aspirin together with a proton pump inhibitor (PPI) like Prilosec to their patients who had heart attack.

Plavix is also known as clopidogrel, and is manufactured by Sanofi-Aventis SA and Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. On the other hand, Prilosec is a drug for heartburn and is product of AstraZeneca Plc. The purpose of taking PPI is to cut the risk of gastrointestinal bleeding from blood thinners.

However, the latest research showed that people who suffer a heart attack will nearly double their chance of getting another if they are taking Plavix together with a heartburn drug.

A study conducted by researchers from the Denver VA Medical Center indicated that two-thirds of the heart attack patients who took Plavix and aspirin together with a PPI, primarily Prilosec, had almost double the risk of having another heart attack or bout of unstable angina, comparing with those not taking a PPI. Their findings were published on March 3, 2009 in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

In the study, the researchers tracked some 8,205 United States patients, who were treated for a heart attack or chest pain known as unstable angina, and who were given Plavix and aspirin. The study highlighted a potential interaction between clopidogrel and PPI medication, and the researchers believed that this drug combination might be responsible for thousands of repeat heart attacks.

Therefore, they suggested that PPI medication should not just be prescribed routinely or prophylactically in patients who are on aspirin and clopidogrel.

Nevertheless, the findings have not been widely accepted among medical circles and some doctors actually express their worries. If PPIs are not prescribed for heart attack patients, it is possible that more bleeding complications would occur among the patients. It is undeniably that a big bleed for a patient with significant coronary artery disease could be fatal.

As such, some doctors urged caution regarding the findings. Perhaps, more studies should be carried out to strengthen the findings and better still to look for alternative ways of treatment.

How To Eat Healthily During This Festive Season?

Eggnog, log cakes, turkey, ham and many festive treats will keep popping up in front of you whenever you go during this coming Christmas and New Year.

Most of us just cannot resist 'good and delicious' foods, especially those only available once a year. Too much of these 'good' food will not only make us gain weight, but also lead us to health problems such as heartburn and indigestion. One should not forget the fact that eating rich food over time can increase the risk of weight gain and other diet-related conditions such as stroke, diabetes and heart disease. So, the best is to exercise restraint.

This does not mean that we should totally ignore all these festive foods but instead, we should eat healthily. But, how can we do it?

Here are some useful eating tips suggested by dietitians.

One dietitian suggests having a sugared drink or light snack before going out for meal as this can stave off hungers and prevent overeating. When you are at the buffer table, choose low-fat and low-sugar dishes that include lean meats without the skin, fruit and vegetables. If you must take ham, just have one serving (2 thin slices). Excessive salt intake should be avoided as this may lead to hypertension (high blood pressure).

Indigestion and gastric pains due to overeating are not uncommon problems during the festive period. So eat slowly, and chew your food well and do not forget to use small plates to cut down on the portions of food you consume.

Another dietitian advises people to stop eating several hours before bedtime because lying down too soon after eating increases the likelihood of heartburn. After a heavy meal, one should try restore balance to his or her diet by having smaller meals or light snacks of fruit for the next one of two meals.

If you want to prepare meals at home, then take note of the followings:

• Steam, grill or boil food instead of frying it.
• Remove the skin from poultry.
• Add vegetables to meat dishes.
• Use less salt and seasoning, and replace with herbs, spices and homemade stock.