A heart attack also known as myocardial infarction occurs when there is a blockage in the blood supply to the heart. Millions of Indians have heart attacks each year.
Myocardial infarction means the death of the heart muscle tissue (“Myo” means muscle, “cardial refers to heart and infarction means the death of muscle tissue). Best Cardiologist in Faridabad, Dr. Sanjay Kumar explains the various causes of Heart Attacks in Men & Women.
Coronary Artery Disease
Coronary arteries supply blood to the heart. The lumen of these arteries becomes narrow due to fatty deposits called plaques. This may lead to blockage of blood supply to the heart. Coronary artery disease is the number one cause of heart attacks in men and women.
Blood Clots
The calcified hard fatty deposit called plaque becomes hard and therefore its outer shell cracks. A special type of disc-shaped blood cells that help in clotting come to the site of rupture and blood clots form around the plaque. These blood clots block the artery and blood supply to the heart. Oxygen doesn’t reach heart muscle cells causing permanent damage to the heart.
Coronary Artery Spasms
Coronary artery spasms, in very rare cases, can also cause heart attacks. When your coronary artery spasm, it cuts off blood supply to the heart muscles (ischemia) leading to a heart attack. People who don’t have any previous history of heart disease can have heart attacks due to this problem.
Diabetes
Insulin resistance is often associated with obesity, hypertension, high blood sugar levels (hyperglycaemia), and dyslipidemia (abnormal levels of lipids in the body). These risk factors may lead to premature cardiovascular disease (CVD).
High Blood pressure
High blood pressure can affect your arteries in many ways. When arteries are subjected to high blood pressure for long, they become less elastic, and thus blood and oxygen flow to the heart decrease leading to heart disease and heart attacks. When a person has high blood pressure for too long, it damages coronary arteries. Bad cholesterol (LDL) starts to gather around the damaged areas of the arterial walls. Excess strain from high blood pressure and damage caused to the arteries with the accumulation of fatty build-up (plaque) lead to Atherosclerosis. In this condition, the coronary arteries progressively become narrowed due to the build-up of cholesterol, calcium, fats, and other substances (plaque). Atherosclerosis leads to coronary heart disease and heart attacks. The efficiency of your circulatory system decreases. Narrowed blood vessels increase the workload of the heart putting you at a huge risk of life-threatening conditions.
Bottom Line
Apart from these 5 causes of heart disease and heart attacks, there are many other causes as well. In a majority of the cases of heart disease and heart attacks, your lifestyle is the major modifiable or controllable factor. For instance, obesity, diabetes, and heart disease are interlinked. If you manage your weight, you can control, high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes, and heart disease. For instance, merely a 10% reduction in weight can drastically reduce your risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, heart attack, and stroke.