Aspirin, a blood thinner as well as an analgesic, can often help restore blood flow to the heart and prevent further blood clots from forming. Heart attacks are exceedingly common. Every year about 1.5 million Americans have heart attacks and more than half a million people die, making it the leading cause of death in the United States. A heart attack occurs when the blood supply to the heart muscle is reduced or completely blocked due to an obstruction in one or more of the arteries that supply blood to the heart. When the heart muscle is deprived of blood for more than a few hours, it dies.
Many factors contribute to the risk of a heart attack.
Just being a male increases one's risk of having a heart attack. If you're a male over 40 years of age, have at least two of the above risk factors and don't regularly exercise, you should consider getting your heart checked before you leave for a strenuous trip into the outdoors. What you need is an EKG Stress Test, in which your heart and blood pressure are monitored while you exercise to your maximum heart rate on a treadmill. A normal result doesn't guarantee you won't have a heart attack in the next six months, but it does reduce the likelihood substantially. It's not always easy, and even the best cardiologists can be fooled.