Myocardial Infarction - Paper Example

Myocardial infarction (MI), commonly referred to as heart disease, occurs in an individual with the problem of blood flow. Usually, the disease attacks a person when the blood flowing in some part of the heart stops abruptly, thus, causing damage to the heart muscle. Some of the symptoms include chest pain and discomfort in some areas such as the neck, arm back and the jaw. Furthermore, a patient can experience other symptoms such as regular heartburn which lasts for few minutes, nausea, and tiredness, shortness of the breath, faintness, and cold sweat. Heart attack occurs to people who are over 75 years old (Levine, Bates, Blankenship, Bailey & Kho, 2015). According to Levine et al. (2015), women are more likely than men to suffer from the condition.

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While observing some patients with myocardial infarction, Dr. Lavin argued that chest pain is the most common symptom of the MI which occurs in different minutes. Doctor Lavin described chest pain as a sensation of tightness, pressure, or squeezing. Notably, the symptom is usually caused due to inadequate supply of the blood to the heart, thus, limited a limited oxygen level (Levine et al 2015). Scientists refer to the chest pain as angina pectoris. The symptom is as well characterized by a mimic heartburn which occurs when a person clenches his/her feasts over the sternum. However, according to the report by the PubMed Health, heart attack occurs due coronary heart disease (CHD) or coronary artery disease (Lindahl et al., 2017). Notably, CHD causes a condition in which waxy a substance known as the plague build up along the coronary arteries, thus, limiting the supplies of oxygen (Levine et al., 2015).

Second, the shortness of the breath occurs due to reduced output from the left ventricle leading to the failure of pulmonary edema. Notably, the damaged blood vessels leading to the heart cause insufficient supply of the blood resulting to the failure of the left ventricles (Levine et al., 2015). Furthermore, the symptoms such as diaphoresis weakness, nausea, vomiting, light-headedness, and palpitations are caused by a massive surge of catecholamines in the sympathetic nervous system. On a close examination of the patient, Doctor Levine realized that that the surge of catecholamines in the nervous system of the patient who showed symptoms of heart attack occurred to reduce the pain caused by the blood flow abnormalities in the heart muscle. The typical symptoms of myocardial infarction are experienced at old age than among young generation (Levine et al., 2015). Moreover, women with diabetes record a higher prevalence of MI than men.

Using a single patient as a case study, Doctor Baron carried out some tests to establish the presence of myocardial infarction. The myocardial infarction cells contain enzymes and proteins such as kinase, creatine, troponin I and T, and myoglobin. The disease occurs when the myocardial cells die causing the cellular membrane to lose integrity. As a result, the intercellular enzymes and proteins gradually enter the blood leading to serious damages. Therefore, the doctors can identify the enzymes by conducting blood sample analysis and determine the appropriate cure (Lindahl, Baron, Erlinge, Hadziosmanovic, Nordenskjold, Gard & Jernberg, 2017). Doctor Baron used different essays while conducting the laboratory test for MI. For instance, the Doctor first conducted pointof-care testing which focused on the blood samples. Second, Baron carried out central laboratory testing on the level of cardiac troponin to identify the presence of the disease causing pathogens.

Notably, medical doctors prefer the electrocardiogram (ECG) as a tool for testing the presence of myocardial infarction in a patient. The machine assesses the electrical and muscular functions of the heart (Lindahl et al., 2017). Noteworthy, the practitioners prefer the ECG because it is relatively simple to use while carrying out the test. Although doctors should undergo a period of intensive training before using ECG for testing, scientists have developed a standardized system for electrode placement, thus, allowing the learners to easily understand technical procedures. The ten electrodes can produce more than 12 electrical views of the heart (Lindahl et al., 2017). The experts place some of the electrodes on the legs and arms while the others across the chest. The signals detected by the electrodes are recorded and printed in the electrocardiogram. Through the data collected in the electrocardiogram, the physicians can learn about the rate, the rhythm, and the level of blood flow into the ventricles. To elaborate, the rate refers to how fast the heart beats. Normally, the node produces about 72 impulses per minute. If the heartbeat in less than 50 per minute, it results to a condition known as bradycardia (Lindahl et al., 2017). Conversely, tachycardia describes the heart rate that is faster than 100 beats per minute.

Doctor Levine explained the rhythm as the type of heartbeat recorded by the electrocardiogram. According to the scholar, a patient can experience sinus rhythm, the electrical impulse generated from a ventricular contraction. The abnormal electrical impulse generated by the SA node can pose a serious threat to human life. In fact, some electrical rhythms do not generate the heartbeat which indicates that they can cause a sudden death (Lindahl et al., 2017). Importantly, the electrocardiogram does not pose a threat to the doctors even if they remove the stickers. However, the device can cause a little discomfort to the physicians if they use it frequently.

Notably, Doctors and medical experts carry out different laboratory test to diagnose myocardial infarctions which include cardiac biomarkers test, comprehensive metabolic panel, complete blood cell (CBC) count, and lipid profile. Different institutions such as the American Heart Association (AHA), the American College of Cardiology (ACC), and the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) recognize cardiac troponin as a biomarker that the physician can measure in an individual with MI (Levine et al., 2015). Notably, the cardiac troponin has high level of superior sensitivity and accuracy. To elaborate, the troponin protein is rarely found in the serum and can only be released into the blood stream when myocardial necrosis occurs.

Second, the doctors can perform various blood tests to determine the presence of heart attack disease. Heart enzymes leak into the blood and cause further damage to the blood cells. At this point, the registered nurses are likely to take samples of the blood to test for the presence of enzymes causing myocardial infarction. The presence of high level of the protein suggests the possibility of a heart attack (Stone, Robinson, Lichtenstein, Merz, Blum, Eckel & McBride, 2014). Doctors conduct different forms of blood tests which include troponin tests, serum myoglobin tests, and CK or CKMB tests. Furthermore, the medical experts must carry out regular blood checks to determine the overall changes overtime.

In other words, after the heart is damaged and troponin I and T are released into the blood stream, the protein will cause irreversible injury to cardiac myocytes, hence, the need for central diagnosis of myocardial infarction (Kilic et al., 2017). Therefore, troponin plays the bystander role in the diagnosis and treatment of the ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). Notably, the physicians use electrocardiogram (ECG) to provide sufficient diagnostic for emergency intervention. However, experts cannot use electrocardiogram for testing non-ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI). Instead, the doctors can apply a series of troponin testing to confirm diagnosis (Kilic et al., 2017).

While conducting investigation on the persons who are at risk of acute myocardial infarction, Baron determined the elements and food substances which have high chances of causing heart attack. For instance, the doctor analyzed factors such as high blood pressure, the level of cholesterol in the blood stream, the level of triglyceride, and the diabetes. Furthermore, Baron determined other factors such as obesity, tobacco smoking, age and family history. An individual with a high blood pressure has a greater risk of suffering from heart attack (Stone et al., 2014). Normally, the blood pressure of a healthy individual should be between 70-120 mm Hg depending on the age. Therefore, the increase in blood pressure above the normal rate may lead to a heart attack. The increased blood flow destroys the walls of the arteries, therefore, causing a build-up of the plague. Moreover, the presence of cholesterol in the blood can increase the chances of getting heart attack. As a result, health experts recommend regular exercise and proper balance diet as a means for reducing the level of cholesterol in the blood. Furthermore, the patient can reduce the level of cholesterol in the body by taking medication called statins (Stone et al., 2014).

Furthermore, the triglyceride is a type of protein found in the blood which clogs up the arteries of the patient. The triglycerides are consumed as food products from different substances and stored in the fat cells. In case a person consumes them in large quantities, the substance can remain in the arteries and result to the buildup of the plague, thus, increasing the risk of getting a heart disease (Stone et al., 2014). Conversely, diabetes and high blood sugar level can as well increase the chances of myocardial infarction. Notably, diabetes is a condition which can result to the increase in blood sugar and glucose levels. The high level of the glucose in the blood can lead to the destruction of the arteries. Smoking increases chances of heart attack because it results in a cardiovascular condition and can other diseases such as cancer (Stone et al., 2014).

According to the investigation conducted on patients at the hospital, age and family history can as well lead to myocardial infarction. To elaborate, the aging population has a high risk of suffering from the condition. For instance, men are at higher risk of heart attack at 45 while women can get myocardial infarction at 55 years. Conversely, individuals with past family history of heart attack are likely to suffer from the disease under discussion (Stone et al.. 2014). Notably, the family related factors that are likely to cause MI multifactorial familial coronary events include the genetic components and the acquired general health practices. For instance, a child can acquire the general health practices such as smoking habit and high fat diet. To avoid the continuous illness and possible heart attack, a patient can avoid contributing factors such as stress and illegal drugs. Furthermore, the patient must engage in regular exercises to make the body strong and to release excessive fats.

Some information is necessary during the diagnosis of the patient with myocardial infarction. For instance, the doctor must study the historical information regarding the patients smoking habit, blood sugar level, and the high blood pressure (Stone et al., 2014). To determine whether an individual has had heart attack, the medical expert must listen to the patients heart to identify the irregularities in the heartbeat. Second, the doctor may measure the blood pressure to determine the deviation from the normal heartbeat. Notably, the rate of heartbeat must not be more than 120mmHg for a healthy person. Consequently, the health expert can run some supportive tests to provide proof on the possibility of a past heart attack on the patient.

Precipitation Factors

The criteria for diagnosis involve four steps which include confirmation of the diagnosis by the measurement tools such as ECG and biomarker measurement, relief on the ischemic pain, assessmen...