Heart Facts | First ever picture inside a heart attack

First ever picture inside a heart attack

Latest heart attacks facts show that 1 American dies every minute from a heart attack whereas in the UK it is only one death every 6 minutes.  These numbers are terribly depressing but indicate the problems that today’s lifestyle are causing us. We are too obese, our blood pressure is too high, and we do not exercise enough.  Combine that with a fatty diet full of fast food, too much salt, a lack of fibre, and a rising incidence of diabetes and there could be an epidemic. Heart attacks are occurring in younger and younger individuals and sometimes people survive their first but their second or third may take their life.

First ever picture inside a heart attack

First ever picture inside a heart attack

The sad news is that most of the people who have a heart attack dont even make it to the cardiac ward.  For those that do the latest imaging technique to view inside the heart muscle whilst a heart attack is ongoing will improve their prognosis.  Magnetic resonance imaging allows doctors to view the internal bleeding, shown by the red in the picture, inside the heart. It allows them to assess the amount of bleeding as well as the location of the bleed. The more internal bleeding present the more damage done to the heart. By knowing such valuable information medics can suggest further treatment and procedures which will help the patient remain heart attack free in future years.