Life expectancy after suffering a heart attack. How to live after a myocardial infarction? After a heart attack, I can't sleep for a woman

Life after a heart attack can be long and happy, but it takes a lot of effort. Success depends on how well the patient follows the doctor's recommendations. Statistics say that about 10% of seizures end lethal outcome... But, despite the fact that this disease is very dangerous, the chances of survival remain.

The main thing is to prevent relapse.

The second heart attack after the first occurs in 40% of cases. The risk is especially high in the early days, but the chances of not diminishing throughout the year. The patient's condition will largely depend on him. If you follow the doctor's recommendations, proper nutrition, and exercise, you can quickly return to normal life and avoid relapses.

But, if you eat fatty foods, smoke, drink alcohol, expose the body to physical and emotional stress, a second attack will not keep you waiting.

Possible complications

A heart attack is a dangerous condition in which cell death occurs. An attack can lead to cardiac arrest and clinical death. Also, a heart attack can become:

  • pulmonary edema;
  • the development of arrhythmia;
  • brain damage;
  • stomach ulcer;
  • cardiogenic shock;
  • mental disorders.

If the attack was stopped in time, then there is a chance of survival. But the body is weakened and needs. In general, about 80% of patients are able to return to normal life.

Lifestyle change

How to live after a heart attack, the attending physician will tell. To improve your health, it is important to make lifestyle changes. Every patient should:

  1. Monitor nutrition. Fatty and fried foods containing a lot of cholesterol are categorically contraindicated. Meat and fish products can only be eaten boiled and steamed. The diet should contain vegetables and fruits. In no case should you overeat, as this increases the load not only on the stomach, but also on the heart.
  2. Limit the amount of salt in your food to five grams.
  3. Drink less liquid, no more than a liter.
  4. Give up alcoholic beverages and smoking.
  5. Make up the optimal daily routine. You shouldn't be overworked. It is important to have time to relax in daytime.
  6. Stabilize emotional condition... To do this, you need to turn to psychotherapy. Talking to your doctor can help you get rid of your fear of death.
  7. Solve this problem if you are overweight. Since obesity creates an additional burden on the heart muscle.


Physical activity plays a decisive role in recovery. In order for the body to return to normal faster, it is necessary to perform physiotherapy exercises. This is especially necessary if performed.

You need to start training immediately after the acute period. But they do it under the supervision of a doctor. Gradually allowed to increase the load, walk in the fresh air on foot. But, if symptoms appear in the form of increased pressure, chest pain and shortness of breath, you should reduce the intensity of training.

You can return to sexual activity if you are absent three weeks after discharge. In this case, you need to avoid overwork and monitor your well-being. But before that, it is important to consult your doctor.

Taking medications

Life expectancy after a heart attack can be increased with the help of special medications. In the recovery period, you cannot do without them. To facilitate the work of the heart, resort to:

  1. ... They are necessary to normalize blood cholesterol levels. This helps to rid blood vessels of plaque cholesterol and improve blood circulation. In combination with the use of statins, it is imperative to follow a diet low in fat and high levels of fiber.
  2. Beta blockers. They help to achieve reduction blood pressure and reduce the heart rate. Under the influence of drugs, myocardial oxygen demand decreases.
  3. Nitrates. They dilate blood vessels and relieve painful sensations during an attack.
  4. Antiplatelet agents. They thin the blood and prevent clots from forming, which can clog the lumen of blood vessels and cause a second attack of a heart attack. Acetylsalicylic acid is most commonly used. The duration of therapy with antiplatelet agents is about a year.

After the transfer, certain medications are prescribed to support the heart.

Take good medicines

Monitor (keep it at 120/80) and heart rate (60-65 beats per minute at rest). If shortness of breath increases and swelling of the feet and legs appears, then increase the dose of diuretics, limit salt intake and do not drink more than one liter of liquid per day.

As for, try to get tired more during the day, do some work, if possible, read, listen and watch programs, walk, communicate.

Sleep is largely dependent on digestion, so dinner should be light and no later than 6-7 pm. Drink a glass of regular warm milk at night. Milk contains tryptophan, which can help promote sleep. Helps sleep and chamomile tea.

Be sure to ventilate the room before bedtime.

To calm down, you can use the following drugs: tincture, corvalol, grandaxin... Phenazepam has many serious side effects therefore it is not recommended to take it frequently.

There are modern drugs that have a good hypnotic effect, they are quite safe. For instance, donormil which does not call drug addiction... Start treatment with half a tablet, if necessary, the dose can be increased to 2 tablets.

Drugs such as ivadal, imovanyou cannot take without a doctor's prescription... These drugs are well tolerated, but nevertheless, the instructions for their use contain a warning about the possible development of drug dependence and about the possible effect on breathing function during sleep.

The heart and brain are more closely connected than previously thought. The devastating effects of myocardial infarction also affect the brain. In fact, a heart attack causes the death of neurons in the brain stem, which leads to insomnia.

Sleep plays a pivotal role in heart attack rehabilitation, University of Montreal says

During the two weeks after myocardial infarction, periods of paradoxical sleep were observed less often and did not last long. This phenomenon occurred due to the death of cholinergic neurons that control paradoxical sleep, as a result of apoptosis or programmed cell death.

Previous research by Goodbot and Russo's team showed that myocardial infarction affected the limbic system, which is responsible for mood. This explains the depression that often occurs after heart attacks. Since depression is often accompanied by insomnia, the scientists wanted to test whether there was damage to neurons in the brain stem.

It turned out that myocardial infarction causes not only depression, but is also associated with the action of factors that cause inflammation of tissues, such as the brain, especially in the areas that control sleep, its paradoxical phase. The specific function of this phase activates the areas of the brain that are responsible for integrating emotions. This is how the risk of depression increases.

Poor sleep is a known risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Therefore, insomnia can worsen rehabilitation, cause complications, and increase the risk of relapse.

More recently, patients who have suffered myocardial infarction have become permanently disabled. Nowadays, more than 75% of people can afford to continue an active normal life in less than 6 months. To do this, you need to take care of yourself, observe some precautionary measures and conditions, so as not to find yourself in the "nets" of a terrible disease again. Consider 5 rules that a patient must follow to recover from myocardial infarction.

Taking medications

The main medicines prescribed during the rehabilitation of myocardial infarction should prevent the development of atherosclerosis and thrombosis. For this, many doctors recommend taking aspirin because it is the most readily available. medicine... It is taken once a day in small doses and as prescribed by a specialist.

Also, another group of drugs is prescribed - beta-blockers (anaprilin, obzidan, etc.), which resume the work of the myocardium, have an antiarrhythmic and hypotensive effect. Such drugs prevent the effects of nervous and physical stress, reduce the consumption of oxygen by the heart muscle. Beta blockers have been shown to significantly reduce deaths after suffered a heart attack in the first year.

Lipid-lowering modern drugs (lipostad, zokor) will help prevent thrombotic stratification and reduce atherosclerotic phenomena in the vessels. They need to be taken for years, only then the atherosclerotic plaques in the vessels can significantly decrease. The attending physician should tell about the rules for admitting all drugs... He should also warn that the termination of (unauthorized) treatment after a myocardial infarction threatens with repeated relapses, as well as angina pectoris or other complications.

Compliance with proper nutrition

The diet after a heart attack must be low-calorie. For an ordinary person, a daily dose of 1600-2000 kcal will be enough. But the main condition of the diet is the elimination of all animal fats, which are considered the main source of cholesterol. It is also highly undesirable to consume products with milk fat. Poultry meat can be consumed, but after removing all its fatty parts. Persons suffering from diabetes mellitus, as well as, must be sure to observe, and strictly, salt-free diet.

But cooking with vegetable oils (sunflower, olive, linseed, rapeseed) is most useful for patients who have had myocardial infarction. As for the intake of alcoholic beverages, this is a controversial issue. If you use them in a dosed and competent manner, then this gives a small anti-atherosclerotic effect. Research has shown that one glass of wine (red) per day has a positive effect. However, in no case should you drink alcohol uncontrollably.

Rehabilitation by physical education

After being discharged from the hospital, unfortunately, the person stops doing special physical exercise that were started at the hospital. This is highly undesirable as it could reduce mortality by 25%! With all the breaks, relaxing exercises, the duration of the session should be between 20 and 60 minutes. After a heart attack, physiotherapy exercises will not only saturate all organs of the body with blood, as well as nutrients, but also create a positive mood in the nervous system.

In addition to special physical education, the following rehabilitation methods have an excellent effect on the cardiovascular system: therapeutic walking, massage, physiotherapy methods, special baths, spa treatment.

Quitting smoking completely

A patient who has suffered a myocardial infarction is generally always subject to repeated attacks. That is why it is important to engage in secondary prevention as well. Quitting tobacco smoke is a prerequisite for life after suffering a heart attack, both after a year and after 10 years. Quitting smoking is a wonderful and very effective preventive measure for this disease.

Trip to the sanatorium

Rehabilitation in a sanatorium after a heart attack improves the patient's psychological state and gives new strength. After a heart attack in the first year, treatment in specialized cardiological sanatoriums is indicated. If the patient's condition has stabilized and he feels normal, then rehabilitation can continue at the seaside resorts.

On the basis of such a sanatorium, patients receive general therapy, which consists of the following activities: sanatorium regimen, movement active regimen, taking cardiological drugs, exercise therapy, massage, sleeping in the fresh air, mineral and gas baths.

After a heart attack, rehabilitation in a sanatorium should ensure the normalization of metabolic processes in the heart muscle, support cardiac functions, and also stabilize the water-salt balance. In spa treatment, the restoration of a person's working capacity and social adaptation is considered a very important point.

All these 5 rules, their mandatory observance, will help you recover faster from this disease.

Life after suffering a heart attack should return to the level at which it was in the pre-infarction period. And in no case should you be discouraged! After all, life goes on, and you need to accept all events. Myocardial infarction is a serious illness, but it is by no means a reason to consider yourself disabled, because every day medicine is moving further towards success in the treatment of this condition and its complications.

Rehabilitation after this pathology should become the main condition for a normal, full-fledged life. Many such people who have suffered the severity of a heart attack have become successful and have lived a long and wonderful life.

Myocardial infarction is a condition when a blockage of the coronary muscle of the heart occurs due to its narrowing or discharge of a blood clot, causing a complete cessation of the blood supply to this organ. Life expectancy after a heart attack directly depends on the degree of damage to the heart muscle and the severity of harm to the entire body. The disease is characterized by the presence of scars that exclude the possibility of full functioning of the heart, and the necrotic area of ​​the muscle loses its elasticity and strength.

Rehabilitation methods after a heart attack

Recovery largely depends on proper rehabilitation:

  1. Stationary. Recovery takes place under the strict supervision of medical personnel in the cardiology department.
  2. Day hospital. The patient is rehabilitated by being in the hospital only during the daytime. Walks in the fresh air, hikes home are allowed.
  3. Outpatient. With him, the patient undergoes recovery on his own, visiting the cardiologist at the clinic on the appointed days.

A heart attack is a pathological condition accompanied by tissue necrosis due to a violation of the blood supply to the body.

How long the rehabilitation will last depends on the place of its implementation. On average, with inpatient treatment and proper functioning of the left ventricle, the patient is discharged on the tenth day of stay in it. The prognosis for the life of each patient is individual. So, with the timely detection and treatment of a disease, a person can live a long life. It all depends on the general state of his health, and how old this misfortune happened to him. Statistics show that younger people are much more likely to tolerate a ruptured heart and its consequences than older people.

Remember that experiencing a heart attack means dividing life into "before" and "after". Do not dramatize the situation too much, but simply reconsider your attitude to life, habits, do not forget about prevention and self-control.

Types of infarction

Please note that depending on the focus of the muscle lesion, the ailment is divided into:

  • small (small focal), when changes in the work of the heart are observed in its individual parts;
  • extensive, it is characterized by the defeat of large areas of the heart muscle.

The manifestations of myocardial infarction in each case are individual

Types of extensive infarction

Depending on the place of injury, it is divided into a heart attack:

  • the anterior wall of the left ventricle;

It has been established that damage to the anterior wall of the heart is the most common and easier to diagnose disease. Establish dysfunction back wall almost impossible. The cardiogram does not reveal abnormalities, which quite often leads to the death of the patient. Only after the person died does the autopsy reveal numerous scars on the back wall.

In rare cases, the phenomenon of chronic heart attack, not characterized by pain, with signs of suffocation or fever, is possible. It proceeds quite hard, with a large statistics of deaths. With any kind of such a disease, you can meet a "heart rupture" for the second time. It happens due to irreversible processes in the heart muscle and adjacent coronary vessels. Blood circulation is impaired, atherosclerotic plaques appear, as a result of which a recurrent heart attack is diagnosed.

Rehabilitation begins following the acute phase of myocardial infarction

Stenting is often used to prevent any kind of heart attack. It is a cobalt mesh tube that is inserted into the narrowest part of the artery, providing a constant flow of blood to the heart. After stenting, it is mandatory to take blood-thinning drugs to avoid thrombus formation, from which the stent cannot protect. The operation is classified as endovascular and is performed under local anesthesia.

How long they live after stenting is an incorrect question. You need to understand that stent placement is a chance for a long and healthy life, which can be prolonged by a correct daily routine and a healthy diet.

Life after a heart attack has its own characteristics, and in order to understand how to live with a myocardial infarction, what can and cannot be done, we will consider below. The main criterion for a full life after an illness is precisely its quality.

To restore the body after a "ruptured heart" you need:

  • follow a diet and proper nutrition;
  • avoid stress and not overwork;
  • monitor your weight;

Physical activity is an integral part of rehabilitation therapy after a heart attack.

  • get rid of bad habits;
  • exercise;
  • monitor the indicators of blood tests;
  • restore an acceptable level of blood pressure;
  • do not neglect taking prescribed medications.

When these measures are followed, the likelihood of recurrence of the disease is significantly reduced.

Remember that in men, the course of the disease and the recovery period are more difficult than in women. Therefore, if he has diabetes and he still smokes, the likelihood of the disease is much higher. But with such an ailment, it is not only possible to continue to live, but it is also necessary that it can provide a correct lifestyle.

Questions about sex after illness are the most common. At the moment of orgasm, the heartbeat accelerates and this becomes a great physical activity for the heart and for the whole body. But if you sustain the recovery period, gradually increasing the load, starting from walking at close distances and ending with climbing stairs, thereby training the heart muscle, then a smooth transition to intimate contacts is not only possible, but will also have a positive effect on the health of the whole organism.

The answer to the question: how to behave after stenting, there will be only one recommendation - to adhere to proper nutrition, to reconsider your habits.

The prognosis for life after a massive heart attack is less favorable, life expectancy will largely depend on the state of the body and the exact observance of rehabilitation measures.

People who have suffered extensive myocardial infarction, especially those who have experienced extensive posterior wall infarction, should be monitored by a cardiologist, since usually survival after such a disease has low rates. This is due to the fact that the heart can no longer work in the same mode, and the patient's task is to help him with the life support of his body.

What will life be like after a heart attack, how long do patients with such a diagnosis live - the reviews are different. Remember that your health is in your hands.