Protecting the hearts of the elderly

Imagine your heart as the water pump of your home. Day and night, without rest, it pushes water through the pipes so every corner of the house receives supply. If the pump weakens, if the pipes are blocked, or if the motor suddenly stops, the entire system collapses. The same happens in our body. The heart is our pump, the blood vessels are the pipes, and the blood is the water carrying oxygen and nutrients. When this system works smoothly, life flows. But if it falters, trouble begins and sometimes with deadly speed.

On this World Heart Day, let us try to understand what really happens in the most common heart conditions, heart attack, heart failure, and cardiac arrest, along with their warning signs, risk factors, and how we can prevent them.

 What is a Heart Attack?

Think of a road blocked by a traffic jam. Cars pile up, horns blare, and nothing moves forward. A heart attack happens in a similar way. The “roads” are our arteries, which carry blood to the heart muscle. When one of these arteries gets blocked, often by fat and cholesterol deposits, the blood cannot reach part of the heart. That area becomes starved of oxygen, and the heart muscle begins to die.

 Symptoms of a heart attack:

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  Chest pain or pressure, often described as heaviness or squeezing
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  Pain spreading to the left arm, neck, jaw, or back
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  Shortness of breath
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  Sweating, nausea, or vomiting
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  In women and elderly people, symptoms may be “silent”—just fatigue, dizziness, or indigestion-like discomfort

A heart attack is not always sudden and dramatic like in movies. Sometimes it creeps in quietly. That’s why knowing the warning signs matters.

 What is Heart Failure?

Heart failure does not mean the heart has stopped, it means the pump has grown weak and cannot push blood effectively. Imagine a tired motor that still runs but cannot push water with the same force, so water collects in the tanks and pipes. Similarly, in heart failure, fluid backs up in the lungs, legs and other parts of the body.

 Symptoms of heart failure:

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  Shortness of breath, especially when lying down or after walking short distances
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  Swelling in the feet, ankles, or abdomen
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  Sudden weight gain from fluid build-up
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  Fatigue and weakness
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  Persistent cough, sometimes producing frothy sputum

Heart failure is often a long-term condition, but with treatment and lifestyle changes, people can live meaningful lives. 

What is Cardiac Arrest?

Cardiac arrest is like a sudden power cut. The heart’s electrical system fails, the pump stops instantly, and blood flow ceases. Without quick action—CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) and defibrillation—death can occur within minutes.

 Symptoms of cardiac arrest:

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Sudden collapse

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  No pulse, no breathing
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  Loss of consciousness

Unlike heart attack or heart failure, cardiac arrest usually strikes without warning. Sometimes it may happen as a result of a severe heart attack, but it can also occur due to abnormal heart rhythms.

 Common Risk Factors

Just as dirt and rust damage the motor and pipes of a pump, certain habits and conditions damage our heart:

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  High blood pressure (the silent killer that strains arteries)
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  Diabetes (too much sugar weakens blood vessels)
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  High cholesterol (fatty deposits clog arteries)
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  Smoking and alcohol (toxins that corrode the system)
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  Obesity and poor diet (extra burden on the pump)
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  Physical inactivity (pump gets weaker without use)
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  Stress (hormonal surges disturb the rhythm)
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  Family history (genetic wiring that predisposes to disease)

The tragedy is that most of these are preventable.

 Prevention: Caring for the Pump

If we maintain our water pump, clean the pipes, and use good quality fuel, it runs smoothly for years. The same applies to the heart.

 Steps for prevention:

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  Eat wisely: Fresh fruits, vegetables, whole grains, pulses, lean meat, fish and nuts is good for arteries. Avoid excess salt, sugar and fried foods. Portion size and Moderation is key.
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  Stay active: A 30-minute brisk walk or light exercise most days keeps the heart strong. Movement is medicine.
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  Quit smoking and alcohol: Nothing harms the heart more quickly than these toxins.
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  Manage stress: Meditation, prayer, hobbies and faith based activities.
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  Sleep well: 7–8 hours of restful sleep repairs the body and regulates blood pressure.
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  Regular check-ups: Seniors especially should monitor blood pressure, sugar, cholesterol, and weight regularly. Small issues caught early prevent big disasters later.

Our heart has been faithful to us since before we took our first breath. It beats without pause—60 to 80 times a minute, 100,000 times a day, and nearly three billion times in a lifetime. On this World Heart Day, let us not wait for a crisis to value it.

Remember:

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  Heart attack is a blocked road.
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  Heart failure is a weak motor.
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  Cardiac arrest is a sudden power cut.

But unlike machines, the heart also responds to love, joy, and peace. Holding a grandchild’s hand, sharing a laugh with friends, or sitting quietly at sunset are medicines as real as any pill.

Every beat is a gift. To honor World Heart Day is to treat each beat with gratitude, to protect it with wise choices, and to remember that caring for the heart means caring for life itself.

Did You Know?

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  Heart Attack Warning Signs ACTFAST: A – Angina (chest pain), C – Cold sweat, T – Tiredness (unexplained fatigue), F – Fainting or dizziness, A – Anxiety (feeling of doom), S – Shortness of breath, T – Tightness in the chest
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  The golden hour for a heart attack is the first 60 minutes after symptoms start. Prompt medical help can restore blood flow, limit heart damage, and improve survival and recovery. Recognizing symptoms and acting fast is crucial.
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  Your heart beats about 100,000 times every day—that’s more than 35 million times a year.
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  Over a lifetime, the heart will beat around 3 billion times if well cared for.
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  The heart pumps about 5 liters of blood every minute, roughly 7,571 liters every day, enough to fill a truck’s fuel tank in a single day.
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  The blood pumped by your heart daily travels through approximately 60,000 miles of blood vessels, enough to circle the Earth twice.
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  Women’s hearts beat slightly faster than men’s hearts, on average.
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  The left lung is smaller than the right lung to make space for your heart.
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  A healthy heart creates enough pressure to squirt blood up to 30 feet.
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  Laughing is good for the heart—it boosts blood flow and relaxes blood vessels.
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  Heart cells stop dividing early in life, but your heart can grow stronger with exercise.
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  The heart has its own electrical system, which means it can keep beating even outside the body for a short time.
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  The sound of your heartbeat (“lub-dub”) comes from the valves opening and closing as blood flows.
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  During pregnancy, a woman’s heart pumps up to 50% more blood to nourish both mother and baby.
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  Stress isn’t just in your mind, it hits your heart and arteries too. A sudden shock, fear, or intense anger can trigger a surge of adrenaline. This causes the heart to beat faster and harder while arteries tighten. Broken heart syndrome (takotsubo cardiomyopathy) is real, severe stress can stun the heart and mimic a heart attack.
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  Daily walking lowers heart disease risk as much as running, if done consistently.
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  Every cigarette shortens life and hurts arteries, quitting starts healing the heart within 20 minutes.
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  The heart supplies blood to every other cell in the body except for the cornea.
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  More heart attacks occur on Mondays than on any other day of the week, possibly due to higher stress hormones.