A heart attack is a serious medical emergency whereby the supply of blood to the heart is suddenly blocked, usually by a build-up of cholesterol. Cholesterol is a waxy substance that clogs up your arteries, starving your heart of the blood it needs to function. High blood pressure can also promote cholesterol build-up and contribute to heart attack risk.
The researchers found that systolic blood pressure lowered from an average of 141.2 to 137.0 mmHg, and diastolic blood pressure lowered from an average of 83.3 to 80.9 mmHg.
What do these numbers mean?
Blood pressure is recorded with two numbers. The systolic pressure (higher number) is the force at which your heart pumps blood around your body.
The diastolic pressure (lower number) is the resistance to the blood flow in the blood vessels.
They’re both measured in millimetres of mercury (mmHg).
“To the best of our knowledge, the current study is the first to investigate the effects of tomato or tomato product intake on cardiovascular disease risk markers over the course of a year and over a wide age range,” the authors wrote.
Heart attack – symptoms to be aware of
Symptoms of a heart attack can include:
- Chest pain – a sensation of pressure, tightness or squeezing in the centre of your chest
- Pain in other parts of the body – it can feel as if the pain is travelling from your chest to your arms (usually the left arm is affected, but it can affect both arms), jaw, neck, back and tummy (abdomen)
- Feeling lightheaded or dizzy
- Sweating
- Shortness of breath
- Feeling sick (nausea) or being sick (vomiting)
- An overwhelming sense of anxiety (similar to having a panic attack)
- coughing or wheezing.
“Although the chest pain is often severe, some people may only experience minor pain, similar to indigestion,” notes the NHS.
“In some cases, there may not be any chest pain at all, especially in women, older people, and people who have diabetes.”
