Heart Attacks: Causes and Risk Factors

What is a Heart Attack?

When the flow of blood to the heart is obstructed, a heart attack occurs. If the blood flow is not restored quickly, lack of oxygen can cause damage to that part of the heart muscle and it can begin to die. Therefore, if you think you or someone else is having a heart attack, get help immediately. Treatment for a heart attack has a better chance of minimizing damage to the heart if it is given within one hour of the first symptoms.

People who have heart attacks most likely suffer from coronary artery disease which is brought about by the build up of fatty material known as plaque inside he coronary arteries. These arteries supply the heart with blood and oxygen. This buildup can take many years to occur. When a heart attack happens, some of this build up splits off and causes a clot. A big enough clot can partially or entirely prevent blood from getting to the heart muscle.

After having a heart attack, other problems can develop that include irregular heartbeats and even heart failure. Both of these conditions can cause death.

The heart muscle can heal and healing normally begins soon after the heart attack is over. Generally, it takes about two months. The heart attack created a wound on the heart, and as it heals, a scar forms. Unfortunately, this scar tissue does not function as well as muscle tissue of a healthy heart. The ability of the heart to pump efficiently is decreased and that decrease in pumping is directly related to the size of the scar.

What are the Risk Factors? (Who is at Risk?)

There are a lot of risk factors for heart attacks. Some are out of your hands, but there are others that you can control. The risk factors that you can't control are:

1. Getting Older – About 83 percent of deaths from coronary heart disease occur in people over 65. Women over 65 who have heart attacks are less likely to recover than men.

2. Gender – Men are at much greater risk for heart attacks and they are more likely to have them earlier in life.

3. Heredity (and Race) – Children who have one or more parent with heart disease are at risk for developing it themselves. African Americans tend to suffer more from extreme high blood pressure than Caucasians, therefore increasing their chances for heart disease and heart attacks. American Indians, Mexican Americans, native Hawaiians, and some Asian Americans all have a greater risk of heart disease.

If you fall into any of these risk categories, you should make every effort to manage other risk factors that are controllable, like the following:

1. Smoking – Smokers up their risk factor two to four times more than those who don’t smoke.

2. High Cholesterol – The higher the cholesterol, the higher your chances of getting coronary artery disease. You should use diet and exercises to lower cholesterol, and if that fails, talk to your doctor about medication.

3. High Blood Pressure – This can make the heart work harder and increase your chances of heart attack and even stroke. Again, if diet and exercise don’t work to lower blood pressure, speak to your doctor about prescription medication.

Lack of exercise and obesity are also risk factors for heart attack and heart disease that can be controlled by you. Stress is also a contributing factor in that it affects behavior, like causing you to over eat, smoke, or drink alcohol.

For more information on heart disease, visit http://symptomsheartdisease.net