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When you or a loved one experiences chest pain, it’s natural to think a heart attack is to blame. Heart attacks can be deadly, so seeking immediate attention could save lives. But heart attack isn’t the only cause of chest pain. Pressure, discomfort and pain can be triggered by conditions completely unrelated to the heart. Because chest pain can be the result of a heart attack, seeking prompt attention from a healthcare provider is critical. It’s always better to be safe than sorry when it comes to your health. However, not all chest discomfort is caused by a heart attack—or even related to the heart.
Heart Attack Warning Signs
When you experience a heart attack, minutes matter. Prompt treatment is needed to limit the damage done to the heart muscle. Discomfort—squeezing, pressure or pain—in the center of the chest is one of the hallmark signs of a heart attack, but heart attacks can cause other symptoms, including:
- Arm, back, jaw, neck, shoulder or stomach pain
- Lightheadedness
- Nausea
- Shortness of breath
In addition, women may experience different symptoms than men, including excessive fatigue or a general sense of malaise.
If you experience any of these symptoms, seek immediate medical attention.
When It’s Not a Heart Attack
Chest discomfort sends around 6.5 million patients to emergency rooms each year. However, many of those patients aren’t having a heart attack. Heart and vascular conditions, such as high blood pressure, valve disorders and arrhythmias, can sometimes cause momentary or fleeting chest discomfort. Other conditions unrelated to heart disease can also cause chest pain.
For example, fibromyalgia and shingles can cause whole-body pain that may show up in the chest. Chest discomfort that lingers or is worse when you breathe or cough may be associated with a lung condition, such as pneumonia, a blood clot or an asthma attack. Something as simple as heartburn can cause chest pain, too. Additionally, chest pain is a common symptom of a panic attack, which causes a burst of anxiety that can leave you with symptoms that feel like a heart attack.
Although chest pain isn’t always associated with a heart attack, it always deserves immediate attention. It’s better to be safe than sorry.
When your heart is at stake, you need a team of experts close to home. Magnolia Heart & Vascular Center offers state-of-the-art heart care right here in the heart of Alcorn County.
Physical activity is an important part of maintaining good overall health. But let’s face it: If you don’t enjoy your exercise routine, you’re unlikely to stick with it. Cycling is a fun form of exercise that has drawn an increasing following in recent years, becoming so popular during the pandemic that bike stores ran out of bikes. The benefits of cycling range from physical to mental, so if you’re looking to get out of a workout rut, it may be time to give it a try.
How Cycling Benefits Your Health
When it comes to exercise, almost any activity that makes your heart pump faster is beneficial. When you cycle, your heart rate increases, making it an effective form of aerobic exercise.
Riding a bike regularly can decrease your risk of high blood pressure and heart disease. In addition, cycling:
- Boosts your mood
- Enhances balance and coordination
- Helps manage weight
- Improves lung health
- Provides a joint-friendly, low-impact workout
One other benefit of cycling is that you can adapt your workouts based on your fitness level and goals. Whether you’re riding a bike outdoors or participating in an indoor cycling class, you can challenge yourself further by ramping up your speed to improve your endurance or increase resistance to strengthen your leg muscles.
How Much Cycling Is Too Much?
Most adults should set a goal to get at least 150 minutes of moderate physical activity each week or 75 minutes of strenuous activity a week. But there’s no one-size-fits-all prescription for how much you should cycle.
Depending on the intensity, speed and duration of your cycling workouts, they can be either moderate or strenuous. But you aren’t limited to the number of minutes listed above.
You may find that cycling provides you with a great outlet for stress relief, and that bike rides every other day or even daily are good for your emotional well-being. As with any activity, you’ll need to determine your own limits.
Listen carefully to your body, and take a break when needed. Rest days can be helpful, as they allow your body to recover after long or intense workouts. If you’re experiencing pain during or after a cycling workout, that’s your body telling you to take a break.
Staying Safe When Cycling
Safety is essential when riding a bike, especially if you’re cycling outdoors. Follow these tips to stay healthy on the road, trail or trainer:
- Wear the right gear. If you’re riding outdoors, wear a well-fitting helmet. If you are cycling after dark, put on reflective clothing, such as a glow-in-the-dark vest.
- Check equipment first. Before you hop on your bike, give it a good once-over to ensure it’s in proper working order.
- Start slowly. You can gradually increase your pace, resistance levels and the duration of your workouts as you build strength and stamina.
- Use good posture. Leaning forward and over your bike may feel natural, but sitting this way can cause a stiff neck and other aches. To cycle in comfort, choose a bike that is the right size for you and sit up straight when you are riding. If you notice pains in your knees and hips, your bike may need to be readjusted. Outdoor cyclists can schedule a bike fitting at a local bike store. If you take indoor classes, ask the instructor to help you ensure you are positioned correctly.
Looking for other tips about making exercise a regular part of your routine? Check out our blog on heart-healthy activity.
Your primary care provider retired, and now you need to find a new one. One of the providers recommended to you is an internist. But what is an internist exactly?
Within the practice of medicine, there are many different specialties. It’s common to hear about providers who specialize in skin health (dermatologists), the urologic system (urologists), heart health (cardiologists) and other parts of the body. But typically, your care starts with a primary care doctor, who focuses on your overall health and can address many problems before you need to see a specialist. Even within the field of primary care, there are different types of providers—and an internist is one of them.
Understanding the Role of an Internist
An internist, sometimes referred to as an internal medicine doctor, has specialized training in diagnosing, treating and managing health issues in people age 18 and older.
As part of their training, internal medicine doctors develop deep knowledge about chronic health conditions, such as Type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure, that are common among adults. Internists are especially proficient in managing care for patients who may have multiple chronic health issues.
Because internists serve as primary care providers, they can refer you to other specialists when necessary. So, if you’re seeing an internist for your general health needs but develop a heart condition, he or she can refer you to a cardiologist when you need more advanced care.
What’s the Difference Between a Family Physician and an Internist?
Internal medicine and family physicians have very similar backgrounds and often provide similar care. The main difference is the age of their patients.
While internists have specialty training in caring for adults, family physicians are general practitioners who undergo training that allows them to care for patients beginning at birth. Because family physicians care for patients at all ages and stages of life, they receive training related to many different health needs, including pediatrics, women’s health and geriatrics.
In fact, family medicine got its name from the fact that one medical provider—the family physician—could provide diagnosis and treatment for health conditions affecting the entire family, from babies to older adults.
It’s important to note that some internists provide care for children. Doing so requires undergoing additional training in pediatrics, allowing them to be credentialed in both adult and pediatric care.
Which Provider Is Best for Me?
Choosing a medical provider is a very personal decision. Since both internists and family medicine physicians can serve in primary care provider roles, there’s no definitive answer to which type of provider you should choose.
Consider the stage of life you’re in. If you are a young adult raising kids, it may be easiest to work with a family medicine physician who can care for your needs as well as your children’s. If you’re an older adult, do not have children or already have a trusted pediatrician for your kids, an internist may be a good option for you.
Ultimately, you want to choose a provider who makes you feel comfortable. Narrow your choices to primary care providers, then look for one who meets your specific needs. You may want to interview a few before deciding on one to provide your ongoing care.
Looking for an internist or another medical provider? Find one at Magnolia Regional Health Center.
If you are a middle-aged woman, you may expect occasional blasts of intense internal heat—otherwise known as hot flashes—which are considered a common part of going through menopause. But the menopausal transition isn’t the only time when hot flashes can occur. The causes of hot flashes are abundant.
What Is a Hot Flash?
Hot flashes can cause you to feel uncomfortably warm, even if the environment around you is cold. Researchers aren’t quite sure why, but hot flashes are incredibly common among women during the menopausal transition. In fact, up to 75% of women experience hot flashes during perimenopause.
While the exact cause of hot flashes isn’t well understood, fluctuating hormone levels related to menopause are thought to play a part in disrupting the body’s temperature.
What About Night Sweats?
If you have ever woken up very sweaty in the middle of the night, you have experienced what is known as a night sweat. Night sweats often happen when a hot flash occurs at night, leading to sweating even though you’re resting.
Night sweats aren’t always the result of a hot flash. In some cases, the external temperature of the room (or an excess of blankets) can leave you hot during the night, causing you to sweat. But in many cases, particularly during menopause or illness, night sweats are caused by changes within the body, not the temperature around you.
Can Hot Flashes Be a Sign of a Serious Health Issue?
Many women experience hot flashes for months and even years leading up to and following menopause. In most cases, hot flashes and night sweats are simply an annoyance. But if you experience them regularly during menopause and find they disrupt your normal routines, talk with your medical provider.
He or she may recommend making changes to improve your quality of life, which can be as simple as lowering the thermostat or avoiding things that trigger your hot flashes. Your provider may also recommend hormone therapy to manage your menopausal symptoms. Hormone therapy can be prescribed on a temporary basis to limit menopause-related symptoms, such as hot flashes.
While menopause is a common cause of hot flashes, both hot flashes and night sweats can also be associated with other medical conditions, blood sugar swings and certain medications. When your immune system is revved up to fight off a virus like the common cold, you may experience temperature swings that include hot flashes and sweating.
If you aren’t sick or going through menopause but still experience hot flashes, check in with your medical provider. Since many conditions can be most effectively treated during their earliest phases, having your provider investigate unusual symptoms is an important step to protect your health.
Wondering whether your hot flashes could be a sign of something serious? Turn to Magnolia Women’s Center, which offers care for women at all ages and stages of life.
If diet and exercise alone aren’t helping you achieve your desired weight loss goals, bariatric surgery may be a good strategy.
Sometimes called weight-loss surgery, bariatric surgery can be a good option for many people who are looking to lose weight and improve their overall health.
In the United States, there are three types of bariatric surgery performed most often—gastric sleeve, gastric bypass and adjustable gastric band placement. A fourth procedure, known as biliopancreatic diversion with duodenal switch, is less common.
To keep it simple, we’re going to talk through the gastric bypass procedure and the gastric sleeve procedure.
What Is Gastric Bypass Surgery?
A gastric bypass procedure, also called Roux-en-Y gastric bypass, is performed in three steps:
- The surgeon compartmentalizes a portion of your stomach, creating a small pouch in the top section and stapling it off. This makes your stomach much smaller than it was previously, which will limit the amount of food you can eat without feeling full.
- Next, the surgeon divides the small intestine into two sections and connects the lower part to the new stomach pouch. This will cause food to bypass the larger portion of your stomach and the other portion of your small intestine, so the body will absorb fewer of the calories in the foods you eat.
- The last step of gastric bypass is to connect the upper portion of the small intestine to an area located near the lower part of the small intestine. This allows the stomach’s digestive juices to flow in from the bypassed portion of the small intestine to help digest food. This is important because the bypass procedure changes the balance of hormones and the bacteria in the GI tract that are related to metabolism.
How Does Gastric Sleeve Surgery Work?
Gastric sleeve surgery, also called sleeve gastrectomy, offers an incredibly effective weight-loss solution that works differently than gastric bypass. It’s also a much simpler procedure and is less likely to cause nutritional deficiencies after surgery.
During the gastric sleeve procedure, roughly 80% of the stomach is permanently removed and the remaining portion of the stomach is sewn into a banana-shaped pouch. The procedure requires no other alterations to the GI system.
Gastric sleeve works to promote weight loss in two ways—the stomach can physically hold less food, which means fewer calories are consumed. In addition, the part of the stomach that is removed is responsible for most of the hormone that causes hunger, so your appetite decreases after surgery. As you begin to eat less, you will also shed excess body weight. Plus, gastric sleeve surgery can be helpful in maintaining normal blood sugar levels.
Top Benefits of Gastric Sleeve
While both gastric bypass and gastric sleeve can help people achieve substantial weight loss, the gastric sleeve procedure offers several advantages.
Because gastric sleeve does not involve the small intestine, the risk of complications is lower than other weight loss surgery procedures. For example, people who undergo gastric bypass may experience vitamin and mineral deficiencies, a risk of small intestine-related complications or blockages, and an increased risk of developing ulcers.
Gastric bypass is also associated with unpleasant symptoms related to what’s called “dumping syndrome.” This syndrome occurs when someone who has undergone weight loss surgery feels sick after eating certain foods.
If diet and exercise alone haven’t helped you lose weight, gastric sleeve surgery could be your next best move. Set up a consultation with the Center for Surgical Weight Loss at Magnolia Regional Health Center to learn more.
If you’ve ever had a broken heart after the end of a relationship or the death of a loved one, you may have felt like your heart was physically breaking. But can you die from a broken heart?
You may be surprised to learn that there is a heart health condition related to heartbreak. The so-called broken heart syndrome, which is more formally known as stress-induced cardiomyopathy or takotsubo cardiomyopathy, can indeed be fatal in some cases.
While it isn’t tremendously common, sometimes the surge of stress hormones associated with intense emotions and extreme stress—like those caused by the death of a loved one—can weaken the heart. This effect was recently in the news in the wake of the Uvalde school shooting, when the husband of a teacher who died in the shooting passed away from a heart issue days after the tragedy.
How a Broken Heart Affects the Actual Heart
There’s no question that our mental and emotional health have a significant impact on our overall health. In the last few decades, we’ve learned how important it is to take care of both body and mind to stay truly healthy.
But there’s still a lot to learn when it comes to how a traumatic event can impact the heart. Research has shown that intense stress and shock can induce cardiomyopathy, a condition that disables the heart muscle and makes it harder for the heart to pump blood effectively.
Contrary to the name, broken heart syndrome occurs even in those who don’t have a broken heart. It can also be triggered by other shocks to the body, including severe pain, a major injury or illness, a car accident, a major financial loss, intense fear, or even something as seemingly innocuous as public speaking or a surprise party.
This phenomenon, first discovered in the 1990s, is much more common in women than in men. The majority of people who experience broken heart syndrome survive and go on to live healthy lives.
The Symptoms of Broken Heart Syndrome
People with broken heart syndrome often have symptoms that may be mistaken for a heart attack. Symptoms can include an irregular heartbeat, sudden chest pain and shortness of breath.
But unlike a heart attack, which occurs due to blockages in the arteries of the heart, this type of cardiomyopathy occurs when severe stress sends the heart into short-term heart muscle failure.
When the body experiences a shock, it can weaken the heart suddenly and seemingly inexplicably, making it much more difficult for the organs of the body to get the blood they need. This is caused by a weakening of the left ventricle.
How Broken Heart Syndrome Is Diagnosed and Treated
If stress-induced cardiomyopathy feels like a heart attack, how is it diagnosed? In most cases, emergency diagnostic testing is performed.
In a heart attack, imaging scans show evidence of the coronary arteries being obstructed and blood test results suggest heart damage. That’s not the case in someone who has broken heart syndrome. Instead, tests reveal a ballooning of the left ventricle.
In most cases, the symptoms associated with broken heart syndrome don’t last for long. Generally, the person recovers within weeks. Treatment depends on individual symptoms and the severity of those symptoms. The person may receive medications, including those to lower blood pressure, slow the heart rate, decrease fluid buildup and manage the underlying stress that caused the condition.
Because the symptoms of broken heart syndrome are serious, it’s important to seek immediate medical attention if you’re experiencing them.
When your heart’s at stake, you need a medical team you can count on. The Magnolia Heart & Vascular Center is here to offer state-of-the-art heart care in Alcorn County.