Why Do Some People Survive a Heart Attack and Some Don't?

It's estimated that more than 90% of people survive myocardial infarction. But what makes one person more likely to survive a heart attack than another? There are several factors that can affect your own likelihood of making it through a major cardiac event.

At West Houston Heart Center in Houston, Texas, Dr. Humayun Naqvi and his team offer preventative cardiology focused on reducing your chances of heart disease or heart attack. Here’s what they have to say about heart attack survival.

Awareness of symptoms

Knowing the signs of a heart attack can mean you’ll get to the hospital faster and have a better chance of surviving a heart attack. Early signs include pressure or pain in the center of your chest that lasts a few minutes, recedes and then returns, and shortness of breath.

Many people may feel pain in their back as well as their front and can also experience neck, shoulder, and arm pain. Women are more likely than men to have an attack of nausea or even vomiting preceding a heart attack.

Speed of treatment

Prompt treatment during the early stages of heart attack, including the use of aspirin, clot-busting drugs, and artery-opening angioplasty, is thought to account for more than half of the reduction in heart attack deaths since 1985.

Having baby aspirin in your car or bag can help save lives. It dissolves easily under the tongue if you’re having a heart attack (or if you’re with anyone else having a cardiac event).

Lifestyle

Smoking and drinking can greatly increase your risk of cardiovascular disease, which can lead to heart attack. Cigarette smokers are 2-4 times more likely to get heart disease than nonsmokers. Additionally, people who binge drink are 72% more likely to have a heart attack than those who don’t.

Cutting smoking and heavy drinking out of your lifestyle can help prevent dangerous changes in the heart wall, and you’ll be able to reduce your risk of death by heart attack.

Weight

Being obese increases your chance of a cardiac event. A 21-year study showed that obesity-related cardiovascular disease deaths tripled from 2.2 per 100,000 population to 6.6 per 100,000 population between 1999 and 2020. However, being underweight or losing weight suddenly isn’t good, either; it can actually increase your chances of not surviving a heart attack.

If you're obese, you’re best served by striving for a healthy weight achieved through careful meal planning and exercise instead of binge dieting. 

To learn more about your risk factors for a heart attack and how to improve your chances of surviving a cardiac event, call us at 832-400-3957 or request an appointment online.