A heart attack occurs when a coronary artery, which supplies blood to your heart, becomes blocked.
The most common sign of an attack is chest discomfort or pain, which can spread to your arms, neck, jaw, or back.
Chest discomfort or pain can last for several minutes or come and go.
Risk factors include:
- Age. Men age 45 or older, and women age 55 or older are more likely to have an attack than are younger men and women.
- Tobacco includes smoking and long-term exposure to secondhand smoke.
- High blood pressure. Over time, high blood pressure can damage arteries that lead to your heart. High blood pressure that occurs with other conditions, such as obesity, high cholesterol or diabetes, increases your risk even more.
- Metabolic syndrome. This syndrome occurs when you have obesity, high blood pressure and high blood sugar. Having metabolic syndrome makes you twice as likely to develop heart disease than if you don’t have it.
- High blood cholesterol or triglyceride levels. A high level of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol (“bad” cholesterol) is most likely to narrow arteries. However, a high level of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol (“good” cholesterol) may lower your risk. A high level of triglycerides, a type of blood fat related to your diet, also increases your risk of a heart attack.
- Obesity. Obesity is linked with high blood cholesterol levels, high triglyceride levels, high blood pressure and diabetes. Losing just 10% of your body weight can lower this risk.
- Diabetes. Not producing enough of a hormone secreted by your pancreas (insulin) or not responding to insulin causes your body’s blood sugar levels to rise, increasing your risk of a heart attack.
- Family history of heart attacks. If your siblings, parents or grandparents have had early heart attacks (by age 55 for males and by age 65 for females), you might be at increased risk.
- Lack of physical activity. People who exercise regularly have better heart health, including lower blood pressure. Being inactive contributes to high blood cholesterol levels and obesity.
- Stress. You might respond to stress in ways that can increase your risk of a heart attack.
- An autoimmune condition. A disease such as rheumatoid arthritis or lupus can increase your risk of a heart attack.
A heart attack requires emergency treatment to restore blood flow to your heart.
Always call Triple Zero (000) immediately if you think you or someone else may be having a heart attack.
The most common cause of a heart attack is coronary heart disease, which occurs when the coronary artery, which supplies blood to your heart, narrows because of plaque build-up. Plaque is made of fat, cholesterol, and other materials. The narrowed artery causes a reduced amount of blood flow to your heart muscle.
During a heart attack, a small amount of plaque from the artery wall breaks away (ruptures) and can form a clot that can block blood flow through the artery and damage the heart muscle.
A great resource to gain information about Heart Attacks is the Australian Heart Foundation;
