Heart Attack Overview

If your parent has recently been hospitalized for a heart attack, the future may seem very uncertain. Now is the time to organize medical care and figure out how to make the transition from hospital to home as smooth as possible. Ask your parent's doctors and nurses the following:

Also known as a myocardial infarction, a heart attack occurs when blood flow to part of the heart muscle (myocardium) becomes blocked. If the blood flow is cut off for more than a few minutes, this muscle?s cells begin to die from lack of oxygen.

Although you're probably familiar with the classic heart attack scenario from movies and TV, most people don't just clutch their chests and fall to the ground. Heart attacks usually start slowly, with mild pain or discomfort, or even more subtle flu-like symptoms. Heart attack symptoms can be subtle, and it's not always easy to tell what's happening...

When a parent suffers a heart attack, it can turn his -- and your -- world upside down. Although a heart attack always presents challenges, keep in mind that every heart attack is different. Symptoms vary, causes differ, and treatment depends on many factors...

Heart disease is the number one killer of men and women in the United States. For people over 65 years of age, the risk is even greater: eight out of ten people who die of heart disease are 65 or older. Although these statistics sound dire, take heart: With these strategies, you can help your parents reduce their risk -- and reduce your own at the same time...

Several factors raise the risk for heart attack and coronary artery disease. The more risk factors someone has, the greater the chance of developing coronary artery disease. Also, the risk increases as each risk factor increases (for instance, high blood pressure that's just a bit higher than normal is less of a risk than skyrocketing high blood pressure)...