Causes of Heart attack
Triggers list for Heart attack: The list of triggers mentioned in source as possible causal factors for Heart attack includes:
Cause statistics for Heart attack: The following are statistics from various sources about the causes of Heart attack:
- 49% of cases caused by high blood pressure worldwide(WHO World Health Report, 2002)
- 3.3% of diabetic adults attending specialist diabetes services had a heart attack in Australia 2002 (Australia’s Health 2004, AIHW)
Cause details for Heart attack: A heart attack happens when a blood vessel in or near the heart becomes blocked. Not enough blood can get to that part of the heart muscle. That area of the heart muscle stops working, so the heart is weaker. During a heart attack, you may have chest pain along with nausea, indigestion, extreme weakness, and sweating.1
The heart works 24 hours a day, pumping oxygen- and nutrient-rich blood to the body. Blood is supplied to the heart through its coronary arteries. In coronary heart disease (CHD), plaques or fatty substances build up inside the walls of the arteries. The plaques also attract blood components, which stick to the artery wall lining. Called atherosclerosis, the process develops gradually, over many years. It often begins early in life, even in childhood.
The fatty buildup or plaque can break open and lead to the formation of a blood clot that seals the break. The clot reduces blood flow. The cycle of fatty buildup, plaque rupture, and blood clot formation causes the coronary arteries to narrow, reducing blood flow.
When too little blood reaches the heart, the condition is called ischemia. Chest pain, or angina, may occur. The pain can vary in occurrence and be mild and intermittent, or more pronounced and steady. It can be severe enough to make normal everyday activities difficult. The same inadequate blood supply also may cause no symptoms, a condition called silent ischemia.
If a blood clot suddenly cuts off most or all blood supply to the heart, a heart attack results. Cells in the heart muscle that do not receive enough oxygen-carrying blood begin to die. The more time that passes without treatment to restore blood flow, the greater the damage to the heart.2
A heart attack occurs when there is a severe blockage in an artery that carries oxygen-rich blood to the heart muscle. The blockage is usually caused by the buildup of plaque (deposits of fat-like substances, or atherosclerosis) along the walls of the arteries. The sudden lack of blood flow to the heart muscle deprives the heart of needed oxygen and nutrients. If the blockage is not opened quickly, the heart muscle is likely to suffer serious, permanent damage as areas of tissue die. 3
The medical term for a heart attack is acute myocardial infarction. Acute means sudden, myo refers to muscle, and cardia refers to heart. The myocardium is the medical name for the heart muscle. Infarct refers to the artery being plugged or clogged up3
Underlying condition causes of Heart attack: The list of possible underlying conditions (see also Misdiagnosis of underlying causes of Heart attack) mentioned in various sources as possible causes of Heart attack includes:
- Heart disease
- Coronary heart disease
- Atherosclerosis
- Coronary thrombosis (see Heart symptoms)
- Arrhythmias
- Electrolyte imbalance
- Shock
- Severe injury
- Hemorrhage
- Electrocution
- Anaphylactic shock
- Hypoxia
- Respiratory failure
Heart attack as a complication: Other conditions that might have Heart attack as a complication might be potential underlying causes of Heart attack. The list of conditions listing Heart attack as a complication in our database includes:
- Amphetamines
- Anaphylaxis
- Anemia
- Angina
- Atherosclerosis
- Atrial flutter
- Cocaine
- Coronary heart disease
- Ecstasy
- Heart disease
- High Cholesterol
- Hypertension
- Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis
- Iron deficiency anemia
- Sleep apnea
- Thrombosis
- Xanthoma
Heart attack as a symptom: Conditions listing Heart attack as a symptom may also be potential underlying causes of Heart attack. The list of conditions listing Heart attack as a symptom in our database includes:
Causes of Heart attack: medical news summaries: The following medical news items are relevant to causes of Heart attack:
- 1.56 hypertension sufferers worldwide predicted by 2025
- Aspirin and Bextra combination may increase heart risk
- Australian medical experts want Celebrex to remain on the market
- Breast cancer drug Femara superior to Tamoxifen
- Celecoxib no longer allowed to be used as a cancer treatment
- Children increasingly face adult diseases
- COX-2 inhibitors and heart attack risk
- Diet drug manufacturer seeks approval for multimillion-dollar national settlement over it’s banned diet drug
- Diuretics are cheap and the benefits outweigh the risks
- Doubts over the real cause of depression
- Health Canada warns consumers about various COX-2 inhibitor NSAIDs
- Heart disease can occur in people with few cardiovascular risks
- High salt consumption can cause a range of health problems
- How much is really known about the safety of statins
- Husband fails in lawsuit over wife’s death following a sudden birth
- Hypertension needs rapid attention
- Long term medications need to be carefully assessed to determine health benefits
- Man active lifestyle destroyed after suffering a heart attack allegedly because of Vioxx use
- MBL protein level linked to heart attack risk in diabetics
- Merck faces nearly 500 lawsuits over Vioxx
- More women using natural hormones for menopause therapy
- New results on Bextra implicates whole cox-2 inhibitor class of drugs
- New risk factors may be associated with cardiovascular disease risk
- Osteoporosis rates expected to increase with reduced useage of HRT
- Pfizer releases Bextra risks information
- Pollution effects minimized by blood-pressure drugs
- Recent studies involving contraceptive pill risks may be flawed
- Suspension of Aleve comes as a surprise
- Symptoms of old age may be similar to many other treatable conditions
- Vioxx lawsuits to be filed in Britain
Related information for causes of Heart attack:
Further relevant information on causes of Heart attack may be found
in the risk factors for Heart attack
and underlying causes of Heart attack.
Footnotes:
1. excerpt from Keep your heart and blood vessels healthy: NIDDK
2. excerpt from What Is A Heart Attack: NHLBI
3. excerpt from Heart Attack: NWHIC
Last revision:
April 9, 2003
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