Reasons for Heart Attack: Top 5 Causes of Heart Attacks

There are many reasons for heart attack to occur. A heart attack occurs when the oxygenated blood cannot pass to and from the heart, depriving the heart of oxygen, thus diminishing the ability of the heart muscle to pump blood to the other parts of the body. This happens when a plaque build up, usually consisting of fats, cholesterol, and fibrin forms a clot and blocks the major arteries and the blood vessels. When the heart is deprived of the required amount of oxygen and nutrients, it results in a person suffering from a heart attack.

Coronary Heart Disease
The most common of all reasons for heart attack results from coronary heart disease. The coronary arteries are responsible for supplying the heart muscle with the oxygenated blood. If a person has a coronary heart disease or a coronary artery disease, it means that there is a plaque build up of waxy substances inside the coronary arteries. When this condition occurs within the arteries, the person is suffering from a disease called atherosclerosis. The plaque build-up does not happen overnight. These waxy substances form a blockage over a couple of years.

After some time, one area of the plaque build up will rupture inside the affected artery. When this happens, it causes blood to clot and form on the surface of the plaque build up. The blood clot will continue to grow over time and once it gets to a large enough size, it can severely prevent, or even completely block, the flow of blood to and from the affected coronary artery. If the blockage is not removed or destroyed immediately as possible, the cardiac muscle that the affected artery is responsible for will begin to die. The healthy heart tissues will be replaced with scar tissues. This type of damage to the heart may not be noticeable at once, but it may cause long lasting and severe medical problems.

Coronary Artery Spasm
Another of the many reasons for heart attack is coronary artery spasm. This type of ailment, while less occurring, is a serious medical condition. Coronary artery spasm occurs when the person suffers from a severe spasm or tightening of any coronary artery. The spasms will cause the flow of blood to the artery to be cut off. Severe tightening or artery spasms can happen even in arteries which are not affected by atherosclerosis.
These type of reasons for heart attack is usually associated to taking substances such as cocaine and other drugs. It can also be related to pain or severe emotional stress. Coronary artery spasm can also result from a person being exposed to extremely cold temperature. Cigarette smoking can also cause coronary artery spasm which may lead a person to suffer from a heart attack.

Hypertension or High Blood Pressure
Hypertension or high blood pressure is one of the reasons for heart attack. A person who suffers from hypertension is not only at a higher risk of having a heart attack, but also has an increased risk for different heart diseases and strokes. People who are obese, over weight, smokers, as well as those who have high blood cholesterol levels are at greater risk of suffering from strokes, heart attacks, and other cardiovascular diseases. Blood pressure varies from person to person, age to age, and case to case. This reason for heart attack may be associated with other factors, but it is better not to have it in conjunction with other risk factors such as obesity, smoking, and high blood cholesterol levels.

High Blood Cholesterol Levels
Another of the many reasons for heart attack is having high blood cholesterol levels. Cholesterol is a substance which is similar to fat and is contained within the blood. Cholesterol can be found in all cells of the body. The liver is responsible for producing the cholesterol in a person’s body in order to produce specific types of hormones as well as cell membranes. The excess cholesterol found in a person’s body is obtained through eating fatty foods such as dairy products, eggs, and meats.

Foods that contain saturated fat are the source of the extra cholesterol in the body. These food types include milk products consisting of butter fat, tropical oils including the coconut oil, as well as fat contained in red meats. If a person takes in too much LDL or low density lipoprotein, this causes plaque build up to form on the walls of the arteries. This condition is called atherosclerosis. When the build up of plaque due to high levels of bad cholesterol form a blockage in the arteries, the person is at a greater risk of suffering from a heart attack.

Diabetes
Diabetes is another of the main reasons for heart attack. This is most especially true among patients who are afflicted with Type II diabetes or the adult onset type of diabetes. Non-insulin dependent diabetes is common to certain ethnic and racial groups including Hispanics, African Americans, Pacific Islanders, Asians, as well as Native Americans. In fact, the American Heart Association stated that roughly 65% of all diabetes deaths are caused by cardiovascular diseases that often results in a heart attack. If you have diabetes, it is recommended that you seek medical treatment as soon as possible in order to be in good control of your blood sugar levels and to reduce your risks of having a heart attack.