Heart attack remains the leading cause of death in Malaysia for the 14th year

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Ischaemic heart diseases, which occur when arteries of the heart cannot deliver enough oxygen-rich blood to the heart, continued to be the main cause of death in Malaysia last year with a total of 18,267 deaths or 15.6% of total deaths from various causes, the latest Statistics on Causes of Death in Malaysia released by the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) revealed.

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It was the principal cause of death for males in Malaysia with 12,510 deaths (17.8%) while for females, the principal cause of death was pneumonia with 6,033 deaths (12.8%), it said. On average, 50 persons in Malaysia die of ischaemic heart diseases every day.

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After ischaemic heart diseases, the second main cause of death last year was pneumonia (11.8%), followed by cerebrovascular diseases (7.8%), transport accidents (3.7%) and chronic lower respiratory diseases (2.6%).

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On the main causes of death by age group, 4.8% of those aged 0 to 14 died of pneumonia and 20.4% of those aged 15 to 40 died in transport accidents. The main cause of death among those above age 40 was ischaemic heart diseases: ages 41 to 59 (19.2%) and ages 60 and above (16.6%).

(thanks to StarOnline)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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A heart attack is a medical emergency and can be life threatening. It happens when a blockage in your coronary artery causes part of your heart muscle to be starved of blood and oxygen. Most heart attacks occur when a blood clot forms inside the artery after a fatty deposit (called atheroma) has broken off from the artery wall.

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Heart attack symptoms vary from one person to another. The most common signs of a heart attack are: 

• pain or discomfort in your chest that suddenly occurs and doesn’t go away

• pain that may spread to your left or right arm, or to your neck, jaw, back or stomach. For some people the pain or tightness is severe, while other people just feel uncomfortable

• feeling sick, sweaty, light-headed or short of breath.

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It’s possible to have a heart attack without experiencing the above symptoms or 'classic' chest pain. This is more common in the elderly, women, or those with diabetes as the condition can cause nerve damage which can affect how you feel pain.

 

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How is a heart attack treated?

Early treatment to get the blood flowing to the damaged part of your heart muscle again can save your life and limit the amount of permanent damage to your heart muscle.

Many people who have a heart attack need to have emergency treatment to restore blood flow the coronary artery.

• you might have a treatment called primary angioplasty, which is a procedure to re-open the blocked coronary artery and usually involves inserting one or more stents to help keep the narrowed artery open 

• you also might have thrombolysis, which means giving you a ‘clot-busting’ medicine to dissolve the blood clot that is blocking the coronary artery

(thanks to BHF)

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