“A study to assess the knowledge regarding heart attack among the adults in selected offices of guwahati, assam”

Myocardial infarction or 'heart attack” is a type of acute coronary syndrome in which the coronary artery is usually blocked by a blood clot that has formed on an atherosclerotic plaque. Many primary risk factors have been identified with the development of the atherosclerotic coronary artery disease and MI like smoking, obesity, dyslipidemia, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, tobacco use, male gender, family history of atherosclerotic arterial disease, age, post-menopausal state in female. The classic symptoms of heart attack are chest pain, shortness of breath, pressure or tightness in the chest, pain in the neck, jaw, shoulder, radiating to the back, sweating, nausea. Various diagnostic tests are helpful in diagnosing MI, which commonly includes electrocardiograms (ECG), blood tests (troponin, creatinine kinase), coronary angiography. Treatment of an MI is time-critical. Aspirin is an appropriate immediate treatment for a suspected MI. In people with blockages of multiple coronary arteries and diabetes, coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG) may be recommended rather than angioplasty. After an MI, lifestyle modifications, along with long term treatment with aspirin, beta blockers, and statins, are typically recommended. The overall prevalence for MI is about 7.9 million, or 3% in US adults. In 2015,heart attacks claims 114,023 lives in the US. The estimated annual incidence of heart attack in the US is 720,000 new attacks and 335,000 recurrent attacks. Average age at the first heart attackis 65.6 years for males and 72.0 years for females. Approximately every 40 seconds, an American will have a heart attack. Heart Attacks ($12.1 billion) and Coronary Heart Disease ($9.0 billion) were 2 of the 10 most expensive conditions treated in US hospitals in 2013.
Objectives:
•To assess the knowledge regarding Heart Attack among the adults in selected offices of Guwahati, Assam.
•To find out the association of knowledge regarding Heart Attack among the adults with their selected demographic variables such as age, gender, educational qualification, marital status, monthly income, family history of Heart Attack, previous knowledge about heart attack and source of information.
Methods and materials: The study was conducted among 128 adults between 25-64yrs of age in selected offices of Guwahati, Assam who fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Samples were selected by using purposive sampling technique and structured knowledge questionnaire was used to assess the knowledge level.
Results: It was found that out of 128 respondents, majority i.e., 67 (52.35%) respondents had moderately adequate knowledge, 54(42.18%) respondents had adequate knowledge, and seven (5.47%) respondents had inadequate knowledge regarding heart attack. The overall mean and standard deviation of knowledge level was 13.88 and 3.46 respectively. Chi square analysis showed that, there was significant association of knowledge with Educational Qualification, Monthly Income And Source of Information
Conclusion: Thus from this study the investigator concluded that majority of the adults had moderately adequate knowledge level, which means knowledge was required for the adults regarding Heart Attack.