Radha Posted November 6, 2007 Report Share Posted November 6, 2007 i was wondering if its possible to have any kind of heart attack or ischemia or heart damage without having high blood pressure? any input would be greatly appreciated, and have any of you had a heart attack? and what was your bp at the time? what can really be done if you do have one? can it be stopped while you are having it? i know you can take nitroglycerine or aspirin, Radha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tammy Posted November 6, 2007 Report Share Posted November 6, 2007 I'm not sure about heart attack, but I am told it is possible to have a fatal arrythmia with very low bp or slow heart rate or high bp or fast heart rate. I also knew a guy who had a bp of 150/80 while he was having a massive heart attack, so it's obviously possible. This is probably a question for Doctorquest.- Tammy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jj_nycguy Posted November 7, 2007 Report Share Posted November 7, 2007 Ischemia occurs when there is a blockage of blood. Hypertension just aggravates a blockage and can cause ischemia to occur sooner rather than later. If there's a blockage, eventually ischemia will occur. Hypertension can cause a host of other problems, too (stroke, kidney problems, vascular weakness, aneurysms, etc...). If you are experiencing the symptoms of a heart attack; first call 911, take an aspirin under the tongue and wait for help to arrive. This is what I've learned from numerous CPR/AED classes.I hope that helps a bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs. Burschman Posted November 7, 2007 Report Share Posted November 7, 2007 Aspirin under the tongue. That sounds yucky! But if it saves your life ...Haven't seen you post before, NYCguy. Welcome!Amy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajw4790 Posted November 8, 2007 Report Share Posted November 8, 2007 Yeah, pretty much for reasons above. Maybe google causes of heart attack. There would be many reasons.So, are you wondering for a particular reason? You sound pretty worried about it? I don't think most of us are at high risk for it. Many things can act like what you may think of a heart attack feeling like. If you are concerned make sure to check with your dr. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tearose Posted November 8, 2007 Report Share Posted November 8, 2007 Unfortunately, I recently was ill, again, with a bladder infection. My body was not adjusting to temperature well and I triggered Raynaud's attacks in my toe , hands and fingers. It was real bad! Never had it so bad.Anyway, I had my first attack of angina. It is a vasospasm in the heart called Prinzmetal's angina. It was severe and fortunately for me, lasted only 10-15 seconds.It was brought to my attention by my cardiologist that there is a recently discovered relationship to the vasospasms of Raynaud's and the vasospasms of Prinzmetal's. I have never had high bp and my cholesterol levels have never been a problem and are excellent! I am slender and I stay active. I am not the "type" considered at risk...until now.So yes, you can have a heart attack without high blood pressure. Look at all the information at the American Heart Association website.I hope you don't have reason to be concerned!best regards,tearose Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jj_nycguy Posted November 8, 2007 Report Share Posted November 8, 2007 Aspirin under the tongue. That sounds yucky! But if it saves your life ...Haven't seen you post before, NYCguy. Welcome!AmyHi Amy, thanks for the warm welcome.I've been a member for a while but I usually just read the posts. I think I might be one of the few male members with POTS (41yo). For me, POTS seems to go dormant during the summer months. I feel almost normal and have just a few bad days. The remainder of the year... well... not so good. Last November I found myself in the hospital because I blacked out (hypotension) and hit my head on the granite counter top. After a week in the hospital and numerous stitches, I decided I really have to take POTS a little more seriously. This November my POTS has hit me like a train, so I'm back to eating like a bird, getting up slower, drinking Gatorade, etc.I enjoy reading the threads here because it provides me with inspiration & encouragement. Not only do I have POTS, but also tachycardia, PVCs, severe hypertension, hyperchloresterolemia and hypertriglyceridemia. That's why I responded to the post... I thought I could finally help a little. This site is great Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MightyMouse Posted November 8, 2007 Report Share Posted November 8, 2007 jjnycguy, you could be me (except I'm a girl ) My cholesterol is 317, LDL over 200, tachy, high and low bp, yada yada yada...Nina Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flop Posted November 8, 2007 Report Share Posted November 8, 2007 High blood pressure is one of many risk factors for ischaemic heart disease and heart attack. Other risk factors include diabetes, obeisity, high cholesterol, lack of exercise, family history of heart disease at a young age and others.Whilst high BP increases your risk, having a normal or low BP doesn't mean that you can't have a heart attack, some fit healthy young adults do have MIs out of the blue so to speak.Printzmetal's angina is a strange phenomenon. Angina is caused by ischaemia (insufficient blood flow) to the heart muscle, in the usual sort of angina this is caused by furring up of the coronary arteries with plaque made from cholesterol deposits, these patients are at risk of a heart attack caused when the fatty plaque ruptures and causes the blood to clot in the affected coronary artery. In Printzmetal's angina the coronary arteries are normal (no narrowings) but the arteries can spasm which reduces the blood flow and causes ischaemia. Whilst the pain is exactly the same, it is thought that there is no increased risk of heart attack in this group of patients.The advice given on first aid courses in the UK is that is a patient has a combination of: - pain in chest / neck / jaw / shoulder / arm (often left but can be right or both arms)- short of breath- clammy or sweaty- looks greythat you should reassure the patient, tell them to sit down (don't let them walk about) (often leaning against something with the knees bent is most comfortable), phone 999 / 112 for an ambulance (obviously 911 in the USA) and give them 300mg of aspirin and ask them to chew it slowly (it gets absorbed directly in the mouth).Hopefully none of us will have to experience this but if you or anyone arround you has the symptoms of a heart attack, don't ignore them - get help!Flop Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tearose Posted November 9, 2007 Report Share Posted November 9, 2007 I think the aspirin is a good idea flop but I was told it will take a half hour to work so I should call 911, lay on the floor by the door and dab a nitro pill under my tongue and then take it out. I'll have to ask about a quicker acting aspirin or slow acting nitro tablet.Also, Mayo says Prinzmetal's does increase heart attack possibility...What can you tell me about Prinzmetal's angina? How is it different from typical angina?Prinzmetal's angina, also called variant angina, is chest pain (angina) that occurs at rest for no apparent reason — unlike typical angina which usually follows physical exertion. Attacks of Prinzmetal's angina are brief but painful and occur most often at night.The cause of Prinzmetal's angina is a coronary artery spasm, in which the walls of the artery briefly narrow (constrict). This temporarily reduces or obstructs blood flow to the heart muscle, resulting in chest pain. Coronary artery spasms can be associated with atherosclerosis.Treatment of Prinzmetal's angina is directed at the underlying cause, such as atherosclerosis, and may include calcium channel blockers. Individuals with Prinzmetal's angina are at increased risk of heart attack and abnormal heart rhythms (arrhythmia).Let's hope none of us have to prove which one is more accurate...oh, also, of those with prinzmetal who did cath lab testing, only 2/3 of those had some atherosclerosis. 1/3 had none.amazing that the only way to see some clogs is through the cath lab. Also amazing is that you can have no clogs and have this angina. That is why they see it as a vasospasm in the Raynaud's realm...I am still learning, when I know more I will be happy to share.best regards,tearose Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flop Posted November 10, 2007 Report Share Posted November 10, 2007 Tearose,the UK advice that includes aspirin is for patients who aren't known to have prinzmetal's angina - it would work on the platelets in the blood by making them less sticky it reduces the amount of clot that can form during a heart attack.I have never heard of a quicker acting aspirin type drug. Clopidogrel (Plavix) is often described as a super-aspirin as it also works on making platelets less sticky but I think that takes even longer than aspirin to work.The nitroglycerin tablets that they have advised you to use cause blood vessels to dilate so help to reverse the coronary artery spasm. Unfortunately they also dilate all your other blood vessels too and cause low BP. Because of your POTS they want you to be lying down so you don't faint and hurt yourself, and only have tiny doses at once - quick dab under the tongue. Better to keep dabbing the tablet than shove the whole thing in your mouth, leave it under your tongue and then pass out - that could be dangerous.I think that a slow release nitrate wouldn't be quick enough to get rid of the spasm and pain when you needed it and would probably cause low BP for hours after taking the tablet.The other form of nitrate medication for treating acute angina pain (rather than tablets to prevent it) would be a GTN spray. Have you ever tried a spray? Usuallt the dose in the spray is smaller than the dose in the tablets but you would have to check that with your doctor.I hope the pain stays away and you don't need any nitrates at all,Flop Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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