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Scene Four
Heart attack

High blood pressure, cigarette smoke, high levels of cholesterol in the blood and lack of exercise/ physical inactivity are the main risk factors for heart disease.

(Libby Welch/Wellcome Images)

Arteries clogged up with fatty deposits of cholesterol and other substances means that a vital section of the heart can not receive blood and this lack of blood flow causes heart tissue to die and scar, resulting in a heart attack.

Just before a heart attack, patients feel extreme shortness of breath, discomfort or pain in your arms, chest, or jaw that seem to go away after resting.

The patient may suffer from dizziness, fainting, heart burn, vomiting, sweating and nausea and increased or irregular heart rate.

Often the patient is not aware he is having a silent heart attack and so valuable time is wasted in getting medical treatment. Some patients ignore symptoms complaining only of indigestion or sweating. This delay can cause serious permanent damage to the heart and the heart dies.

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« Previous scene Spluttering
Noise of coughing (the respiratory system trying to protect itself)

Digestive Juices
Flatulence and a mixture of gases (nitrogen, carbon dioxide, oxygen, methane, and hydrogen sulfide) leaving the body

Churning Food
Food mixing with gastric acid, churning the food

Stomach Pulp
The break-down of protein into smaller polypeptides and "food" becomes a pasty substances called chyme, after 3 hours of grinding within the stomach.

Wheezing
smoking has damaged the alveoli reducing the amount of oxygen to the cells. Smoker’s breathing is harder and faster to obtain more oxygen.

Sticky Blood
blood becoming sticky and clinging to the inner walls of the artieries making it difficult to pump around the body (fat in veins)

Fast unhealthy heart
An increased and irregular heart rate, just before a heart attack

Restricted Blood Flow
Fatty deposits have clogged up the arteries and the heart is suffering from restricted blood flow.

Heart attack heart beat
the heart suffering a silent heart attack

Heart attack real audio
real audio of a heart attack

Curriculum Module
Unit 8A – Food & Digestion
Unit 8B - Respiration
Unit 9B – Fit & Unhealthy

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