The Pharmacy Care section is a sponsored resource, however, the sponsor has no influence over the content, which is editorially independent.
Pharmacy Care provides information about self-care, that is how to treat minor medical conditions with products available at the pharmacy. Find out how your pharmacist can help you to manage minor conditions yourself.
If you wish, myDr can notify you via email when this article is updated. Your notification settings can be changed at anytime by updating your member profile.
This feature can only be used when you register. Not a myDr member? Register now, it's free and takes only a minute!
Here you can increase the font to your preferred size. This setting will be saved temporarily, however if you are a registered member, this can be saved into your personalised profile.
A heart attack, also known as a ‘myocardial infarction’ or ‘coronary’, is when the blood supply to part of your heart muscle is blocked, causing damage to your heart. The blockage is usually caused by a blood clot forming in one of the coronary arteries (major blood vessels ) that supply blood to your heart. This is more likely to happen if your arteries have become narrowed.
The narrowing of the arteries develops over many years and is caused by fatty deposits, or plaque, building up on your artery walls. This is called atherosclerosis or coronary artery disease.
Exactly what causes the plaque build-up in the arteries is not fully understood. However, there are risk factors which increase your chances of developing coronary artery disease and having a heart attack.
Heart disease risk factors
increasing age
being male
a previous history of heart disease
a family history of heart disease
smoking
obesity
poor diet
raised blood cholesterol or triglycerides
raised blood pressure
diabetes
low levels of exercise
stress
Heart risk assessments
Your health professional can estimate your risk of having a heart attack or stroke in the next 5 years. This assessment includes measuring your blood cholesterol levels and blood pressure.
These results can help you and your health professional to plan any necessary lifestyle changes, medications and ongoing monitoring to reduce your level of heart risk. If the results show you may be at moderate or higher risk, a more detailed examination might be recommended.
In general, a risk assessment is a good idea if you are:
a man older than 45 years
a woman older than 55 years
But you should have a risk assessment at a younger age (a man older than 35 years, a woman older than 45 years) if you:
smoke
are overweight
have high cholesterol, triglycerides or blood pressure
have a family history of cardiovascular disease or diabetes
See Your Pharmacist or Medical Professional
if you have symptoms such as chest pain; you should seek medical help immediately by calling 000
if you think you would benefit from a heart risk assessment
Treatment Tips
Tips for a healthy heart:
eat a healthy diet high in fruit, vegetables and fibre, and low in fat, sugar and salt; increase your consumption of fish as this has a protective effect on the heart
maintain a healthy bodyweight
drink plenty of water
gradually increase your level of physical activity to 30 minutes of moderate intensity exercise on most, if not all days of the week (if very overweight, discuss with your doctor the best exercise options for you)
stop smoking
limit your alcohol intake (and aim to have at least 2 alcohol-free days each week)
make time to relax
Treatment Options
Medicines to reduce risk of blood clots and heart attack
aspirin can be taken daily (75 to 150 mg) to help prevent heart attacks and some types of strokes. Some of the above products (e.g. Solprin) would need to be cut in half for this dose.
aspirin works by thinning your blood, and reducing the chance of blood clots forming in your arteries
this treatment is often referred to as ‘low-dose aspirin’ because the doses used are much lower than those for treating pain or fever
taking low-dose aspirin on a long-term basis is not suitable for everyone; you should discuss this with your pharmacist or GP
side effects of aspirin can include stomach irritation and ulcers
Medicines to reduce cholesterol and triglyceride levels
only nicotinic acid is available from a pharmacist; all the other cholesterol and triglyceride-lowering medications are currently only available on prescription
medicines to reduce cholesterol or triglycerides may be needed if diet and lifestyle changes are not enough on their own
treatment is often life-long
some of these medications may cause muscle pain; always discuss this with your doctor
it is important to take prescribed medications for cholesterol or triglycerides every day, even if you are not aware of any symptoms from your high cholesterol levels
[GENERAL SALE]
e.g. Benefiber, Metamucil (sugar-free available), Fybogel, Nucolox
these products are fibre supplements and known as bulk-forming laxatives
they can help reduce cholesterol levels, in combination with a low-fat diet
they are not absorbed by your body and do not interact with other medicines
drink plenty of water when taking fibre supplements
do not lie down immediately after taking a dose
if you have diabetes, check with your pharmacist for an appropriate product, as most contain sugar
if you are considering taking fibre supplements to reduce your cholesterol level, you should discuss this with your pharmacist or GP first
Medicines to reduce high blood pressure
[PRESCRIPTION ONLY]
e.g. beta blockers such as atenolol (Atehexal, Tenormin, Tensig), diuretics such as hydrochlorothiazide (Accuretic, Dithiazide), ACE inhibitors such as perindopril (Coversyl)
many people will need more than one type of blood pressure medication to reduce their blood pressure to a sufficiently low level
treatment is often life-long
it is important to take prescribed medications for blood pressure every day, even if you aren’t aware of any symptoms from your high blood pressure
do not stop taking blood pressure medicines unless your doctor advises you to.
it would be helpful to monitor your blood pressure at home in order to give daily readings to your pharmacist or doctor
Complementary products
fish oils containing omega-3 fatty acids may have a beneficial effect on triglyceride levels; eating fish in moderate quantities may achieve the same effect as taking fish oil supplements
plant sterol spreads have been shown to reduce cholesterol levels when used in recommended amounts
garlic (Allium sativum) is claimed to help lower cholesterol levels and reduce the chance of blood clots forming, but there is not a lot of scientific evidence to support its use
garlic can cause increased bleeding when used with aspirin or warfarin
More Information
For more information see the link at Related Health Information below.
Availability of medicines
GENERAL SALE available through pharmacies and possibly other retail outlets.
PHARMACY ONLY available for sale through pharmacies only.
PHARMACIST ONLY may only be sold by a pharmacist.
PRESCRIPTION ONLY available only with a prescription from your doctor or other health professional.
This web site is intended for Australian residents and is not a sbstitute for independent professional advice. Information and interactions contained in ths Web site are for infomation purposes only and are not intended ot be used to diagnose,treat , cure or prevent any disease.Further , the accuracy, currency and completeness of the information available on this web site cannot be guaranteed. UBM Medica Australia Pty Ltd, its affiliates and their respective servants and agents do not accept any liability for any injury, loss or damage incured by use of or relance on the information made available via or throught myDr whether arising from negligence or otherwise.
See Privacy Policy and Disclaimer.
