Tag: #filtration

A heart attack death!

Yeah, it seems funny as your own heart just chokes itself & ends your Life. Mr Heart, Just Why?

Heart attack death is one of the leading causes of deaths worldwide. It is more common among the individuals of all races and gender and age. Middle-aged men have a higher risk of heart attack as compared to women of the same age. And on the contrary, older women have a higher risk of heart attack as compared to men their age.According to American Heart Association, every 3 out of 10 Americans suffers from a heart attack. India is not far behind in this trend. However, it is more prominent in individuals living in urban areas as compared to people living in the rural areas.

What is a heart attack?

Take care of your heart before its too lateTalking about Heart attack death,  heart attack is a condition which occurs when there is not much oxygen provision to the heart muscles. This would happen when there isn’t enough blood flow into the heart and therefore, low oxygen input into the heart. Its almost as though your heart ‘suffocates’ thereby causing a heart attack.During this condition, the heart struggles to pump blood into and out of the blood vessels, hence the ‘attack’.

What are the possible causes?

What are the causes of heart attack?
Few causes of heart attack

There are a multitude of reasons behind the heart attack. The most important reason being the lifestyle. Heart attack is now categorized as a ‘lifestyle’ disease.

Lack of exercise or physical activity, eating unhealthy or junk food, lots of stress are few of the main reasons that could provoke an attack.

Also, individuals having coronary artery disease, a condition where the arteries narrow because of deposition of fats and cholesterol, are more prone to heart attack.Another major reason for heart attack is the ‘atherosclerosis‘. It’s a condition where there is a lump of blood vessels formed, thereby blocking the blood flow to or from the heart. This again, happens because of intake of unhealthy and fatty food and diets rich in cholesterol. Because of the clot formed, sometimes, because of the high blood flow, even the blood vessels may rupture causing internal bleeding coupled with heart attack.

Symptoms of a Heart attack

What are the symptoms of a heart attack?
Watch for the signs
  • The first symptom of heart attack would be pain, discomfort and tightness, especially in the chest and below the breastbone. This pain links to the jaw, arm or throat.
  • Along with the discomfort, the patient may experience feeling of nausea or feeling of fullness (almost chocking) or heartburn.
  • Profuse sweating.
  • Along with all of the above, the patient may be feeling weakness, anxiety and shortness of breath.
  • The heartbeat becomes either very fast or highly uneven.

What to do if you have a heart attack?

The first thing you must do is call up the ambulance. You would have about 1-2 hours for the treatment. The more you delay, the more are the risks to your survival. However, with the recent advancements in the field of medicine, heart attack can be treated completely with ease and effectiveness. So I think you won’t die a heart attack death if you just hurry up for the emergency procedures like CPR.

Some steps that you must follow to avoid ‘meet and greet’ with heart attack:

Some steps that you must follow to avoid 'meet and greet' with heart attack:
Ways to avoid a heart attack
  • Drink no more than one to two alcoholic drinks per day for men, and one drink per day for women. Instead, drink plenty of water and fresh juice.
  • Eat a diet that’s free of trans fats, low in saturated fats, cholesterol, salt, and sugar, and high in fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, omega-3 fatty acids, and dark chocolate.
  • Exercise at moderate intensity. That means at least 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week.
  • Limit stress. Try meditating, spending time with people you love, getting enough sleep, and seeking counselling if you need it.
  • Quit smoking today. Yes, right now!
  • Work with your doctor to manage your blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes, and weight.

USE OF PHYSICAL METHODS IN MICROBIAL CONTROL

Although microorganisms are beneficial and necessary for human well being, microbial activities have undesirable consequences such as food spoilage and disease. To minimize there destructive effects, it is essential to kill a wide variety of microorganisms or inhibit their growth.

  1. Heat
    Heating is still one of the most popular ways to destroy microorganisms. Fire and boiling water have been used since the time of Greeks for sterilization and disinfection. Exposure to boiling water for 10 minutes is sufficient to kill or destroy vegetative cells and eukaryotic spores, but not enough to kill or destroy bacterial endospores, hence boiling does not sterilize but can be used for disinfection of drinking water and objects not harmed by water. This can be carried out within an autoclave. Hot and saturated steam enters a chamber and the desired temperature and pressure which is usually 121°C and 15 pounds is reached. At this temperature and pressure the steam destroy all vegetative cells and endospores. Moist heat is thought to kill so effectively by degrading nucleic acids and by denaturing enzymes and other essential proteins It may also disrupt cell membranes.
    Pasteurization is a process where many substances such as milk, are treated with controlled heating at temperatures well below boiling. There are two types of pasteurization- flash pasteurization or high temperature short term (HTST) pasteurization and the other method used is ultra high temperature (UHT) pasteurization.
    Dry heat sterilization can also be used on many objects in the absence of water. The items to be sterilized are placed in an oven at 160 to 170°C.
  2. Low temperatures
    Another convenient method to inhibit the growth and reproduction of microorganisms is to use lower temperatures like freezing or refrigeration. Mostly this method of control is used in food microbiology. Freezing items at -20°C or lower stops microbial growth because of the absence of liquid water and the ice crystal destruction of cell membranes at this temperature. This method is also used for long term storage of microbial samples in the laboratory in the form of glycerol stocks. This method of control at low temperatures slows microbial growth and reproduction but does not half it completely. Fortunately most pathogens are mesophilic and do not grow well at low temperatures around 4°C. Thus, refrigeration is a good technique only for short-term storage of food and other items.
  3. Filtration
    The filters simply remove the microbes instead of killing them. The material used mostly is glazed porcelain, asbestos or other similar materials. Membrane filters are also used and have replaced depth filters in recent times. These filters are used to remove most vegetative cells, but not viruses from solutions ranging in volume from 1 ml to many liters.
    The other way this method is used is in the laminar flow biological safety cabinet where the air is sterilized by filtration. These cabinets contain high efficiency particulate air(HEPA) filters.
  4. Radiation
    The radiations like ultraviolet and ionizing can be used for sterilizing objects. UV radiation is used as a sterilizing agent only in a few specific situations like UV lamps are placed on the ceilings of room for in biological safety cabinet to sterilize air and other exposed surfaces. Commercial UV units are available for water treatment. Pathogens and microorganisms are destroyed when a thin layer of water is passed under the lamps (water purifiers).
    Ionizing radiation penetrates deep into objects and is an excellent sterilizing agent. It destroys bacterial endospores and vegetative cells of both prokaryotic and eukaryotic origin but not against viruses. Gamma radiation from a Cobalt 60 source is used in the cold sterilization of antibiotics, hormones and plastic disposable supplies such as syringes and petri dishes.