Heart attack - What can affect your recovery from a heart attack?

Heart attack

What can affect your recovery from a heart attack?

Doctors look at four things to predict how well you'll do after a heart attack.

They ask:

Is your heart pumping blood properly? If you have a serious heart attack, your heart may not be able to pump correctly afterward. Doctors call this

heart failure
When the heart loses its ability to push enough blood through the circulation, it is called heart failure.

heart failure
Where has your heart been damaged? Attacks that damage the front of your heart (called anterior infarcts) are more dangerous than those that affect the back or base of your heart (called a posterior infarct or an inferior infarct). Heart attacks at the front are more severe and more likely to cause heart failure. To learn more, see Different types of heart attacks
What was your

blood pressure
Blood pressure is the amount of force exerted by the blood on the walls of the vessels that carry it. You can think of it like the water pressure in your home: the more pressure you have, the faster and more forcefully the water flows out of the shower. Blood pressure is measured in millimeters of mercury (written as mm Hg). When your blood pressure is taken, the measurement is given as two numbers, for example 120/80 mm Hg. The first, higher, number is called the systolic pressure, and the second, lower, number is the diastolic pressure. The systolic number is the highest pressure that occurs while the heart is pushing blood into the arteries. The diastolic number is the lowest pressure that happens when the heart is relaxing and is not pushing the blood.

blood pressure and how fast was your heart beating when you were admitted to the hospital? If you had low blood pressure and your heart was beating quickly, you probably had a serious heart attack
How old are you? The older you are, the more likely it is that your heart attack was dangerous. Around 85 percent of people who die of coronary heart disease, a category that includes heart attacks, are 65 or older.

Source:
American Heart Association.
A report from the American Heart Association Statistics Committee and Stroke Statistics Subcommittee. Heart disease and stroke statistics - 2-6 update.
Circulation. 2006; 113: 85-151.

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Sources for the information on this page:

American Heart Association.A report from the American Heart Association Statistics Committee and Stroke Statistics Subcommittee. Heart disease and stroke statistics - 2-6 update.Circulation. 2006; 113: 85-151.

This information was last updated on Apr 09, 2009

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