Educating the population is the key to prevent acute myocardial infarction and treat most efficiently a disease , that is the second cause of death in Portugal – highlighted João Brum Silveira , Hospital da Luz cardiologist, in a reportage and interview broadcasted on Porto Canal, in the Coronary Patient National Day (14 th February). The physician, who is the national coordinator of the campaigns “Stent Save a Life” and “Every second counts”, promoted by the Portuguese Association of Cardiovascular Intervention (APIC), explained the risk factors in the origin of the disease, the symptoms to be alert to, the importance of early diagnosis and treatment, as well as the programs of cardiac rehabilitation. The acute myocardial infarction (or heart attack) results from the obstruction of a heart artery, which causes a distressing of the heart muscle for lack of oxygen and nutrients. Such obstruction is generally originated by the formation of a clot, due to rupture in a cholesterol plaque. The larger the coronary artery involved and the longer the interruption of the blood flow, the greater the damages to the heart. The symptoms of infarction typically last over 20 minutes, but can also be intermittent. They can occur suddenly or gradually, along several minutes. The most common symptoms to which we should be alert to, are: Pain in the chest, sometimes irradiating to the left arm, back and neck; Sweat, nausea, vomits, shortness of breath and anxiety (simultaneously with the pain). “We are talking about a systemic and chronical disease, which evolves, if no changes are introduced in the lifestyle. There are two big groups of risk factors: the non-modifiable (male gender, age, family history of infarction) and modifiable (smoking, excess weight, hypertension, stress, diabetes or high cholesterol)” , synthetized João Brum Silveira. “The treatment consists in primary angioplasty, a minimally invasive technique”, as he further explained: “A small tube is inserted via radial artery and then a catheter, which goes to the heart. In over 90% of cases, a small metal mesh, a stent, is left on place, to prevent the artery from obstructing again.” Reportage and interview with João Brum Silveira on Porto Canal
