Why is this important?

Smoking increases your risk for developing blood clots and heart disease that can result in a heart attack, heart failure or stroke. Smoking causes your arteries to thicken and your blood vessels to narrow. Fat and plaque stick to the walls of your arteries, which makes it harder for blood to flow. Reduced blood flow to your heart may result in chest pain, high blood pressure, and an increased heart rate. Smoking is also linked to lung disease and cancer, and can cause premature death. It is important that you get information to help you quit smoking before you leave the hospital. Quitting may help prevent another heart attack.

Higher percentages are better.

Information about Heart Attack Care

A heart attack (also called an acute myocardial infarction) happens when the arteries leading to the heart become blocked and the blood supply is slowed or stopped. When the heart muscle can’t get the oxygen and nutrients it needs, the part of the heart tissue that is affected may die.

The symptoms of a heart attack can include

• chest pain (often described as a crushing, squeezing or burning pain in the center of the chest and may radiate to your arm or jaw)
• shortness of breath
• dizziness faintness
• sweating
• nausea
• cold or clammy skin
• a gray or very ill appearance

Sometimes there may be no symptoms, especially if you have diabetes. Women sometimes have different symptoms, such as a different kind of chest pain and/or abdominal pain.