A 34-year-old girl from California was on board the flight coming from Goa to Delhi. At a height of 25 thousand feet in the air, she suddenly fainted and bent down on the seat. When the commotion occurred, Congress leader and doctor Dr. Anjali Nimbalkar, who was traveling in the same flight, also reached there. Then felt the girl’s pulse. The girl’s body had become cold and her pulse rate was not detectable. They immediately started giving him CPR. After a few minutes the girl regained consciousness and started talking. After this Dr. Anjali went to her seat. But after a few minutes the girl became unconscious again. Dr. Anjali started giving CPR again and tried her best to save him. But the girl was not regaining consciousness. At one time, Dr. Anjali felt that she might not survive now. But her hard work bore fruit and after some time she regained consciousness. After reaching Delhi, he was admitted to the hospital. Coincidentally, a doctor was present in that flight, due to which life was saved, but the question is that if common people are going to have a heart attack, can it be identified in advance. On this subject, we talked to Dr. Prabhat Ranjan Sinha, Senior Consultant, Internal Medicine, Aakash Hospital, New Delhi.
what is the situation in flight
Dr. Prabhat Ranjan Sinha told how to avoid accidents during heart attack in flight, before knowing why such a situation occurred in flight. Actually, when you are high in the sky, your heart has to work harder to pump. Due to this the level of oxygen in the body gets reduced. Water comes out of the body during breathing and exhaling. Due to this the amount of water in the body also reduces. Along with this, the volume of blood also reduces due to which the blood starts becoming thin. Blood circulation starts decreasing due to which you may feel heaviness in your legs. In such a situation, people who already have heart related complications may be at greater risk. What happened inside the girl’s body can only be known through a detailed investigation, but there could be many reasons for this.
Why do heart attacks occur?
Dr. Prabhat Ranjan told that before the heart attack occurred, there might have been some problems in the body. Some people have congenital problems related to heart. Its symptoms do not appear for many years, hence people do not know about it. Secondly, some people may have complications related to heart arteries. In this, there can be blockage in the arteries due to various reasons. In medical language it is called hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy. In this the arteries suddenly get blocked and blood stops reaching the heart. In this, sudden cardiac arrest can occur and the patient can also die immediately. Some people may suffer from arrhythmia. In this the heartbeats do not move evenly. Sometimes it becomes very fast and sometimes it becomes very slow. Heart rate increases suddenly. This can also cause heart attack.
Are there symptoms of heart attack?
In such different situations, symptoms are difficult to detect initially but in some cases symptoms may appear. In such conditions, breathlessness and angina are the most common symptoms. Angina occurs when plaque begins to accumulate in the arteries and slows down blood flow. Due to this, pain and heaviness may be felt in the chest. It will feel as if something is clutching the chest. If angina increases then this pain can also cause pain in hands, neck, jaw and back. If people do not get proper treatment even after these symptoms, then heart attack and cardiac arrest can also occur. Therefore one should not be careless in such situations.
Who are at greater risk in flights?
Dr. Prabhat Ranjan Sinha said that people who already have heart related problems in their family are at risk of heart attack in flight or anywhere. Also, people who have heart related complications, i.e. tests have revealed that they have high cholesterol, any congenital disease, any disease related to blood vessels, they are at risk of heart attack.
If something like this happens in flight
Dr. Prabhat Ranjan told that if such a situation occurs in a flight, it would definitely be known earlier. There will be congestion, heaviness in the chest, there may be pain, heaviness may be felt in the arms, shoulders etc. That means you may have angina. In this situation you should keep Sorbitrate tablet under the tongue. If suddenly someone becomes unconscious, then in that situation a medical person will be needed immediately. If there is a medical person, he can bring him back to consciousness by doing CPR or other necessary immediate action. After this, one has to reach the hospital within 90 minutes. Heart muscle cells remain protected for 90 minutes. After this, with every minute, the heart muscle cells start dying and the patient’s condition becomes critical. Therefore, it is necessary to immediately take him to the hospital.
What to do to avoid heart attack in flight?
Dr. Prabhat Ranjan told that if you are already aware of heart related complications then take regular medicines and contact the doctor. On the other hand, common people who do not know that they already have any heart related complications in their body should also follow some general precautions. For example, do not drink alcohol before and during boarding the plane. Drink water before boarding the flight and keep drinking water in the plane also. Do not consume salt also. This can further thin the blood. Keep moving on the seat so that circulation is maintained. Use saline nasal spray after the plane goes up. When the plane picks up speed, keep getting up from the seat so that blood flows to the lower part of the body.
