World Heart Day

Aquassure Accessible Baths would like to take this opportunity to remind everyone about the danger of heart disease and stroke. Every year, 17.5 million people worldwide die from heart attack or stroke.

 World Heart Day was formed to create community alertness of risk features for heart stroke and disease and to endorse preventative measures. This Sunday September 26th is World Heart Day.

Prevention:

  • Eat a healthy diet with plenty of fruits and vegetables
  • Stay active
  • Reduce stress
  • Get your blood pressure checked and under control
  • Control cholesterol
  • Lose weight
  • Reduce blood sugar
  • Stop smoking

 Warning Signs of a Stroke

  •  Numbness or weakness of the face, arm or leg, especially on one side of the body.
  • Confusion, trouble speaking or understanding
  • Trouble seeing in one or both eyes
  • Trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination
  • Severe headache with no known cause

Warning Signs of a Heart Attack:

The signs generally last for more than a few minutes

  • Ache in chest: heart attack generally causes uneasiness or ache in the middle of chest. The ache may come on swiftly, or begins gradually and getting worse. A feeling of pressure, squeezing, fullness, heaviness or tightness may also be experienced. The sensitivity has been depicted as: ‘like an elephant sitting on my chest’, ‘like a red hot poker in the centre of my chest’ or ‘like a steel band tightening around my chest’. And the ache might be mild, severe or even moderate.
  • Ache spreading: chest pain may spread to throat and neck, shoulders, jaw, the backside, or both arms and also even into hands and wrists.
  • Uneasiness in upper body: a few people do not feel any type of chest pain- only uneasiness in upper body. And there might be an unpleasant feeling in throat. And the arms also may feel ‘useless’ or ‘heavy’.
  • Other symbols: frequently there may be difficulty breathing and shortness of breath, vomiting or nausea, light–headedness (a feeling of being faint) or a cold sweat.
  • A feeling that something isn’t right.

What to do if you think you are having a heart attack or stroke

 STOP whatever you are doing.

  1. CALL 911.
  2. TELL someone what is happening. Many people don’t want to cause a bother or wake someone up, this inaction can be fatal.

 EVERY MINUTE COUNTS and CAN BE THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN LIFE or DEATH!

Resources:

http://www.heart.org/ – American Heart Association

http://www.stroke.org/ – National Stroke Association (USA)

http://www.heartandstroke.ca/ – Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada

Posted in Health & Wellness.