The Heart Attack

 Written by: Waheeda Sabir

The heart is the key organ in the circulatory system.  Its main function is to propel blood throughout the body.

Heart could be faced many diseases. One of them is the heart attack. The heart attack could happen at any age but its attack risk goes up in men over 45 and women over 55.

The writer/producer AEPO has talked to some people and a doctor about this issue.

Zakia Faqiri says: my father had been facing the heart attack. He was suffering from a cough, asthma, and pains in his chest. When the heart attack was happening, he could not suffer it and finally, he died from it.

Masjidi, a patient says: I have a heart disease. once Heart attack happened to me and I fell down on the ground. My one hand lost its movement. I had vomiting and asthma bronchitis.

Another patient, Bas Bibi says: at the beginning, I was suffering from high blood pressure and later I feel pain in my chest and in my back. When I came to the hospital, they diagnosed it the heart attack.

Doctor Mirwais Amiri, a physician in one of the private hospitals in Kabul city says:

Chest pain is a common sign of a heart attack. the pain in the left side of the chest lasts up to 15-20 minutes and it moves toward the left hand.

 Sweating more than usual could be an early warning sign of heart problems. If your heart couldn’t pump blood you would feel shortage of breath.

Indigestion, nausea, and vomiting are also the symptoms of the heart attack.

Causes:

Masjidi says that I don’t know anything about the causes of the heart attack but I avoid ghee and salt in my daily food.

Basbibi thinks that high blood pressure caused her to face the heart attack.

 Doctor Amiri says that different factors cause the heart attack. High blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, having no physical exercises, obesity, smoking, alcohol, and diabetes are the main causes of heart attack.

Treatment:

Hamid says that his mother suffers from the heart attack. When the heart attack happens, we don’t let her walk. We carry her to the hospital in a car or in a wheelchair.

The doctor advises rest, prohibition from walking and physical activity and if the patient goes into unconsciousness, they should fold the patient’s hands and should press on the left side of the chest. These patients should avoid beef, meat, and fatty foods.