How to Identify Symptoms & Signs of a Heart Attack & Cardiac Arrest

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Unfortunately, heart disease is still one of the leading causes of premature death for both men and women in Canada. It’s important to address ways to identify and react if you’re faced with a heart-related emergency. Below we have laid out common signs and symptoms of a heart attack and a cardiac arrest, and what you can do to help.

Signs and Symptoms of a Heart Attack

Identifying signs and symptoms can vary for both men and women, so it’s especially important to listen to your body as the signs tend to be much less noticeable in women. If you experience any of the signs below call 9-1-1 immediately.

Signs of a Heart Attack

Men and Women

  • Chest discomfort (pressure, squeezing, fullness or pain, burning or heaviness)
  • Sweating
  • Upper body discomfort (neck, jaw, shoulder, arms, back)
  • Nausea
  • Shortness of breath
  • Light-head

More Prevalent In Women

  • Indigestion type feeling, or band of tightness in the upper back region.
  • Dizzy, lightheadedness, or shortness of breath with exertion

What To Do If You Are, Or You See Someone Experiencing A Heart Attack

  1. Call 9-1-1
    • This is highly important as you want to get professional medical help to yourself or to the person you’re treating.
  2. Stop all activity
    • Sit or lie down in whatever position is most comfortable.
  3. Take nitroglycerin or Aspirin
    • If you have either of these items available to you, take them. If you have nitroglycerin, take your normal dosage. If you have Aspirin, chew and swallow a tablet. ***Important*** make sure that you or the person you’re treating are not allergic to either of these items before ingestion.
  4. Rest and wait
    • Wait and stay calm for help to come. If you’re by yourself and you know of someone close by who may be able to help you, try to call out to them for assistance.

Signs and Symptoms of a Cardiac Arrest

Its easier to identify signs and symptoms of a cardiac arrest. Cardiac arrest is defined as heart-stopping, which means that blood is no longer transferring to the rest of the body. Ultimately, this can cause death within minutes.

Signs of a Cardiac Arrest

  1. Sudden collapse
  2. Unresponsive to touch and sounds
  3. Not breathing or they’re making gasping sounds.

What To Do If You See Someone Experiencing A Cardiac Arrest

  1. Call 9-1-1 immediately
  2. Yell or try to locate an AED 
    • If you have someone else with you, get them to look for and grab an AED. AED’s are often available in public places, so if you can’t find one, try to locate an information desk and ask if there is one available.
  3. Start CPR
    • Begin chest compressions by pushing down hard and fast in the center of the chest. If you become tired, try to sub in another bystander until help arrives.

Mikey Young at Heart App

To better prepare yourself in case of a heart-related emergency, we encourage you to sign up and download the Mikey Young at Heart app. Although the app is meant primarily for high school students, it can be used to educate anyone on how to perform CPR and how to properly use an AED.

Superfoods to have Everyday

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Eating Well, is a great source that informs you on ways that you can eat well on a daily basis. They have shared their top 10 super-foods that anyone can eat on a daily basis!

1.Berries:

Berries are a great source of fiber. Essentially, fiber keeps your digestive system and heart healthy.

2. Eggs:

Eggs are very nutritious. Not only do they have protein and give you the energy you need, but they also keep your eyes healthy.

3. Sweet Potatoes:

Yum! Sweet Potatoes keep your eyes, bones, and immune system healthy.

4. Broccoli:

Broccoli is packed with vitamins. It helps with bone health and stimulates your body’s detoxifying enzymes.

To check-out the rest of the Superfoods by Eating well, go to: http://www.eatingwell.com/article/290550/10-everyday-superfoods/

There are plenty of Superfoods that you can eat everyday, to protect your heart-health and overall health. It only takes a few minutes to prepare for a lifetime of good health.

The Fun Truth: Ways that Napping might Help Your Heart-Health

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There are many situations in our daily lives that make us tired– for example, running a bunch of errands on a really busy workday.

Sometimes, you just feel like laying down for a few minutes to rest, unfortunately, many of us see napping as a lazy habit; and even if we don’t, there can be a feeling of guilt from others about how you’re not using your time wisely and you’re simply just “being lazy.”

But did you know that research from the University Hospital of Lausanne, Switzerland has recently published findings for the Heart, which indicates that there is a correlation between napping frequency, duration, and the risk of fatal and non-fatal cardiovascular disease complications. The researchers tracked 3,462 people between the ages of 35 and 75 for nearly eight years and found that those who napped once or twice a week, for between five minutes to an hour, were 48 percent less likely to have a heart attack, stroke, or heart failure, compared to non-nappers.

“Subjects who nap once or twice per week have a lower risk of incident CVD (cardiovascular disease) events, while no association was found for more frequent napping or napping duration,” the authors wrote.

Even though this information was of interest to those of us who like to take a siesta once in a while, the study was an observational one. Meaning, that it only allowed researchers to identify patterns rather than determine a cause and effect. There will need to be further studying to determine if this can be beneficial.

So, for now, just enjoy a little nap here or there, while the research unfolds.

The Importance of Fruits and Veggies for your Heart

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Oftentimes, we all enjoy a meal that is unhealthy but did you know that while it’s quite common to adopt an unhealthy diet about 90% of us are not getting the proper daily amount of vegetables?

For this reason, we want to highlight the importance of a diet that is full of fruits and vegetables and the benefits they contribute to your heart health. Which vegetables and fruits are the most heart-healthy though?

To help, we’ve shared below some of the best fruits and vegetables that you can have for a heart-healthy diet, as well as when they’re in season.

Heart Healthy Fruits and Vegetables

Berries

Berries such as strawberries and blueberries are believed to carry antioxidants that help to decrease blood pressure and dilate blood vessels. This is attributed to the benefit of compounds known as anthocyanins, and flavonoids.

When they’re available: 

  • Strawberries: May, June, July, August, September, and October
  • Blueberries: July, August, and September
  • Cranberries:  September,  October and November
  • Raspberries: July, August, September, and  October

Potatoes

Although potatoes can be more challenging to your heart-healthy dining, if you don’t deep fry them, they can be extremely good for your heart. They’re rich in potassium and high in fiber (if the skin is left on), which again, can help lower blood pressure and the risk of heart disease.

When they’re available: year-round

Tomatoes

Similar to potatoes, tomatoes are high in heart-healthy potassium. Plus they’re a good source of the antioxidant lycopene. Lycopene is a carotenoid that may help to get rid of “bad ” cholesterol, keep blood vessels open and lower heart attack risk.

When they’re available: 

  • Greenhouse: year-round
  • Field: July, August, September, and October

Broccoli, Spinach and Kale

When it comes to your heart health, you can’t go wrong with vegetables. Green vegetables like broccoli, spinach, or kale can give an extra boost to your heart. These are high in carotenoids, which act as antioxidants and can free your body of potentially harmful compounds. They’re also high in fiber and contain lots of vitamins and minerals.

When they’re available: 

  • Broccoli: June, July, August, September, and October
  • Spinach: May, June, July, August, September, and October
  • Kale: June, July, August, September, and October

Avocado

These soft, tasty fruits will provide your body and heart with plenty of healthy fats. They’re composed of monounsaturated fats, high in antioxidants, and also contain potassium to help lower heart disease factors.

When they’re available: (commercially) generally year-round

Asparagus

One of the most important heart-healthy ingredients that are found in asparagus is vitamin B6. This vitamin can lower homocysteine, a form of amino acid that has been linked to heart disease.

When they’re available: May and June

Bell Peppers

Bell peppers contain folate, another nutrient that can reduce homocysteine.

When they’re available: 

  • Greenhouse: February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, and December
  • Field: July, August, September, and October

Carrots

Carrots are rich in carotenoids, which are powerful antioxidants that can combat free radicals that cause heart disease.

When they’re available: February, March, April, May,  July, August, September, October, November, and December

Garlic

Garlic contains phytochemicals that boost immunity and protect the heart against diseases.

When they’re available: February, July, August, September, October, November, and December

Onions

Onions are a rich source of sulfur-containing phytochemicals. These phytochemicals can reduce cholesterol levels, and therefore, prevent heart disease.

When they’re available: year-round

If you’re interested in learning about other heart-healthy foods, check out our post on Ten Essential Foods For A Heart-Healthy Diet; And if you’d like to know when other fruits and vegetables are available, check out Foodland Ontario’s page.

Ways You Should Stretch Before and After Exercising

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This week’s Fitness Post is brought to you by personal trainer Igor Klibanov from Fitness Solutions Plus.

Are you stretching enough? The truth is that what makes sense for one person may not make sense for another. The same is true with stretching.

If you’ve been to my talk called “exercise for different body types”, you’ll know how our trainers assess our clients to determine whether they should stretch or not.

Whether you should stretch before or after exercise and how is only complicated by the fact that there are 4 different types of stretching:

  1. Static passive. This is the most common form of stretching. Think about putting your leg out and reaching forward. It’s static (meaning that you’re not moving), and it’s passive (meaning that you let an external force, like gravity pull you into position).
  2. Static active. Think about how figure skaters skate with one leg up in the air (doing a standing split). This is static (means they’re not moving), but active (because they’re using their own muscle force to get into position).
  3. Dynamic passive. Think about swinging your leg forward and back. It’s dynamic (meaning the limb is moving), but it’s passive, because you’re letting an external force (in this case, momentum) take you through the range of motion.
  4. Dynamic active. It looks similar to dynamic passive, but it’s done under much more control, in which case you’d be using your own muscle force to move the limb.

I hesitate to make generalizations since one-size-fits-all isn’t optimal (or can actually injure you), but before exercise, you should do dynamic stretches, and after exercise, static stretches.

There are exceptions to this rule, however. What if you have certain muscles that are tight, to begin with? In that case, it makes sense to do static stretching on that muscle both before and after.

Oh, and here’s a side note: just because a muscle feels tight doesn’t mean it is tight, and stretching that muscle will do more damage than good. We look at your range of motion to truly identify if a muscle is tight or not. Often muscles can feel tight because neighboring muscles in the body are weak, so they’re taking the load of the weak muscles.

When we’re working with clients, to determine whether they should stretch, what type of stretching, and how much, here are all the factors that go into our consideration:

  1. The present range of motion of different joints (tighter people will need more stretching. For people who have lax joints, stretching will actually increase their risk of injury).
  2. Demands of daily life. Are we working with a desk-bound employee or a gymnast? The desk-bound employee will require less range of motion than the gymnast.
  3. Previous and current injuries.
  4. Goals. If your goals include improved flexibility, we’ll be stretching you more than if your goals include weight loss.

As you can see, it’s not quite as simple as saying “do these stretches”, and you’ll be healthier for it. Not the case. For some people (we see this especially in women), stretching may create more laxity in already lax joints, and increase risk of injury.