Healthy heart

“Your Heart for Life” campaign teaches people how to take care of their heart. Only a few people know, how to prevent cardiovascular diseases, how to recognize a heart attack or stroke, or what to do in such situations. 

Heart

  • = cor (latin), kardia (greek)
  • The heart is an organ placed on the left side of your chest, behind the clavicle. 
  • The primary task of this remarkable muscle is to pump blood with oxygen and nutrients to all the organs.

Fun facts about heart

  • 3 billion – heart beats in an average lifetime (70 heart beats in one minute)
  • 350 grams – that's how heavy a heart is
  • 1967 – the first successful heart transplant in the world
  • 2 + 2 – two ventricles and two atriums
  • 3 – the heartbeat of the baby can be distinguished in the third week of pregnancy
  • 5 – the heart pumps out 5 litres of blood every minute

The first heart transplant was performed in 1967 in Cape Town. A year later, in 1968, it was performed in Bratislava, Czechoslovakia.

Heart attack

Heart attack is a state, during which an artery supplying heart with blood and oxygen becomes blocked. It is most often a result of atherosclerosis.

How does a heart attack manifest itself?

  • Chest pain. Heart attack can also manifest itself with a long lasting back pain. Chest or back pain comes suddenly and lasts for at least 20 minutes.
  • Shortness of breath
  • Pale face and sweating
  • Anxiety
  • Nausea
  • Unconsciousness

If you experience any of these symptoms or if you see someone else experiencing them, call 155 immediately!

Up to 20 % of heart attacks can occur with no chest pain (diabetics and women often experience this absence of pain).

What to do when?

Brain

  • = cerebrum (latin), encephalon (greek)
  • A brain is a part of central nervous system, responsible for the coordination and proper function of the entire body.

Fun facts about brain

  • 2  - brain consists of two hemispheres
  • 432 - km/h  the speed of a nerve impulse
  • 86 - billion nerve cells in a brain
  • 1350 - the average weight of a brain in grams
  • 20 - brain consumes 20% of the glucose intake every day
  • 200 - all nerve fibers put together could go around the Earth 200 times

Stroke

  • Stroke is a state, during which an artery supplying brain with blood and oxygen becomes blocked. It is most often a result of atherosclerosis.

How does a stroke manifest itself? BE FAST!

Balance - loss of balance
Eyes - vision problems
Face - asymmetric face, numbness, tingling
Arms - numbness, tingling
Speech - Speech, problems with speech
Time - ČAS! If you experience any of these symptoms or if you see someone else experiencing them, call 155 immediately! Stroke doesn't hurt, that's why it's dangerous.

What to do when?

How to do chest compressions?

5 important steps to do when you have or see someone else having a heart attack or stroke.

  1. Don't panic, don't look for advice on the internet and start acting
  2. Call 155 for help
  3. Stay where you are and wait for an ambulance
  4. Is the patient conscious? 
    1. Soothe him / her
    2. Check breathing and reactions (talk, pinch the patient's ear)
  5. Is the patient unconscious?
    1. Check breathing - tilt the patient's head back and see, if the chest is moving up and down
    2. If the patient is not breathing, start chest compressions immediately!

How to do chest compressions?

  1. Put your phone on the speaker
  2. Kneel next to the patient
  3. Place your hands over the center of their chest (between the nipples)
  4. Interlace your fingers
  5. Make sure your elbows are straight
  6. Using your upper body weight, push straight down on the chest at least 5 cm deep (it's the size of a Tic Tac box)
  7. Keep the pace of 100 compressions per minute (to the rhythm of Jingle Bells or Stayin Alive from Bee Gees)

NÁŠ TIP:

Download the ZÁCHRANKA app. 

  • It will call the emergency service
  • It will send your location to the dispatcher
  • It will guide you through the chest compressions
What to do when?

How to prevent a heart attack and stroke?

Preventable risk factors:

  • Smoking - If you quit smoking, the risk of having a heart attack or stroke lowers by up to 50%.
  • Lack of exercise - Exercise regularly, at least 5 times a week for 30 minutes.
  • Sleep - Sleep for at least 7 hours a day and go to bed (and from it) at the same time every day (yes, even at weekends :) )
  • Diabetes - If you have diabetes, get checked by your doctor regularly
  • Blood pressure - If you have high blood pressure, check it regularly and take your pills

Non-preventable risk factors:

  • Gender - Men are more prone to both heart attack and stroke, women are more protected thanks to their sex hormones - estrogens.
  • Age - The risk of having a stroke or a heart attack is higher after you turn 55.
  • Genetics - If someone from your family had a stroke before the age of 55, tell that to your GP. Familial hypercholesterolemia, for example, is a hereditary disease, which can manifest at a young age.

What to do when...

5 important steps to do when you have or see someone else having a heart attack or stroke.

Don't panic, don't look for advice on the internet and start acting!

Call 155 for help!

Stay where you are and wait for an ambulance

Is the patient conscious? Shoothe him/her. Check breathing and reactions (talk, pinch the patient's ear)

Is the patient unconscious? Check breathing - tilt the patient's head back and see, if the chest is moving up and down. If the patient is not breathing, start chest compressions immediately!

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