le maʻi fatu encompass a multitude of diseases linked to a malfunction of the fatu i toto toto that feed it.

This sheet focuses on the 2 most common disorders:

• leangina occurs when there is a lack of oxygenated blood in the heart muscle. It causes a sharp crisis tiga in the heart, felt in the chest area. This disorder occurs on exertion and disappears within a few minutes with rest or taking nitroglycerin, without leaving any sequelae. The term “angina” comes from the Latin angere, which means “to strangle”;
• leinfarction myocardial ou ma'i fatu indicates a crisis more violent than angina. Lack of oxygen causes necrosis, that is to say the destruction of part of the heart muscle, which will be replaced by a maʻila. The heart’s ability to contract normally and pump a normal amount of blood with each beat may be affected; it all depends on the extent of the scar. The term “infarction” comes from the Latin infarcire, which means to stuff or to fill, because the heart tissues seem to be engorged with fluid.

Le fatu is a pump that allows blood to be distributed to all organs, and therefore ensures their functioning. But this muscle also needs to be fed with oxygen and nutrients. The arteries that supply and nourish the heart are called the alatoto faʻapitoa (see diagram). Angina attacks or infarcts occur when the coronary arteries are blocked, in part or completely. Areas of the heart that are no longer well supplied with water contract badly or stop doing so. This type of situation occurs when the walls of the arteries in the heart have been damaged (see Atherosclerosis and Arteriosclerosis below).

The age at which a first angina attack or a heart attack occurs depends in part on thetofi, but mainly masaniga o le olaga : diet, physical activity, smoking, alcohol consumption and stress.

faisoʻoga

According to the Heart and Stroke Foundation, approximately 70 people experience ma'i fatu every year in Canada. Almost 16 of them succumb to it. The vast majority of those who survive recover sufficiently to return to an active life. However, if the heart is severely damaged, it loses a lot of strength and has difficulty meeting the needs of the body. Simple activities, such as getting dressed, become overwhelming. It’s heart failure.

Cardiovascular disease is the 1^re mafuaʻaga o maliu around the world, according to the World Health Organization². However, this is no longer the case in Canada and France, where cancers are now found in the 1^er rank. Cardiovascular disease nevertheless remains the 1^re cause of death in maʻisuka and other population groups, such as tagatanuu.

le fatu fatu almost equally affect tagata ma fafine. However, women get it at an older age.

Atherosclerosis and arteriosclerosis

leatherosclerosis refers to the presence of plaque on the inner wall of the arteries that interferes with or blocks the flow of blood. It forms very slowly, often many years before an attack of angina or other symptoms occur. Atherosclerosis mainly affects large and medium arteries (for example, the coronary arteries, the arteries of the brain and the arteries of the limbs).

E masani ona fesootai maarteriosclerosis : that is, to hardening, thickening and loss of elasticity of the arteries.

How does a heart attack occur?

The majority of heart attacks occur in 3 laasaga sosoo.

• First, the inner wall of the artery must undergo microblessures. A variety of factors can damage the arteries over time, such as high levels of lipids in the blood, diabetes, smoking, and high blood pressure.
• Most of the time, the story ends here, because the body takes good care of these micro injuries. On the other hand, it happens that the wall of the artery thickens and forms a kind of maʻila called ” ipu māfolafola “. This contains deposits of cholesterol, immune cells (because micro injuries triggered an inflammation reaction) and other substances, including calcium.
• The majority of plaques are not “risky”; they either do not get bigger or do so very slowly, and then stabilize. Some can even reduce the opening of the coronary arteries by up to 50% to 70%, without causing symptoms and without getting worse. For a heart attack to occur, a toto masaa forms on a plate (which was not necessarily large). Within a few hours or days, the artery can be completely blocked by the clot. This is what creates a heart attack and sudden pain, without any kind of warning.

  The steps that lead to a blood clot forming on a plaque are not fully understood. The clot is made of clotted blood. Like when there is an injury to a finger, the body wants to repair it through coagulation.

leatherosclerosis tends to touch several arteries at the same time. It therefore also increases the risk of other important health problems, such as stroke or kidney failure.