Symptoms and Causes of Heart Attacks Essay

Coronary artery disease (CAD) develops when plaque builds up in the narrow arteries of the heart. The arteries that are affected supply blood to your heart, oxygen, and numerous amounts of nutrients to the heart. The plaque that builds in the arteries is from the amount of cholesterol that is accumulated in the arteries. The plaque that builds within the arteries of the heart decrease the blood flow to the heart often resulting in chest pain (angina), shortness of breath, or other symptoms. This disease is often not diagnosed until the patient has a heart attack. The reason that coronary artery disease goes unnoticed is because this disease develops over decades. “Heart disease is the leading cause of

Atherosclerosis is the process in which substances known as plaques, which are made up of cholesterol and platelets, adhere to tears in the walls of arteries. Over time these plaques build up to the point where they occlude blood flow in the arteries. When this happens in the coronary arteries, either directly, as the result of buildup in the arteries themselves, indirectly in the form a clot from another part of the body breaking loose and becoming lodged in the coronary arteries, the usual result is a heart attack.3

Another word used to describe a heart attack is myocardial infarction, cardiac infarction and coronary thrombosis. A heart attack is the death of a part of the heart caused by the loss of blood supply. The blood supply is usually gone due to a coronary artery being blocked by a blood clot. When a part of a heart artery breaks a blood clot forms around the piece. This blood clot can block the blood flow through the heart muscle. When the heart muscle needs oxygen it is called ischemia. When damage of a part of the heart muscle happens it’s called a heart attack. During a heart attack damage occurs depending on the size of the area blocked by the blood clot as well as the time between the actual heart attack and the treatment. Even though the heart may be hurt, the rest of the organs work with no problems. However, it will not pump as much blood as it used to in order to supply the same amount of blood to all of the parts of the body.

A heart attack occurs when the oxygenated blood that typically flows to the heart muscle is severely reduced or cut off. This happens because the coronary arteries that supply the heart with blood slowly become narrow from built up plaque. If a piece of plaque breaks off, a blood clot typically forms around the plaque and the clot can block the blood flow through the heart. When blood flow is blocked, the muscles of the heart becomes starved for oxygen and nutrients, this is known as ischemia. Because the body needs oxygen to carry out vital life processes, ischemia can cause damage or death to parts of the heart muscles. When damage occurs it is called a heart attack or myocardial infarction (American Heart

A heart attack occurs when an artery that supplies blood to the heart becomes blocked. The loss of oxygen and nutrients damage the heart's muscle tissue, causing the remaining healthy tissue to pump even harder to keep up.

Nevertheless, there is an understandable and noticeable link between circulatory related diseases and lifestyle diseases, such as Coronary Heart Disease. Coronary heart disease can occur when fatty acids, such as cholesterol in an inadequate diet, build up in the walls of the coronary artery. These fatty deposits collect minerals and harden to become a plaque. Eventually, this plaque grows and can swells up, forming an aneurism. In some cases, this aneurism may burst leading to instant death. As it continues to grow and swell up, it finally blocks the artery completely and forms blood clots. This is known as coronary thrombosis. A myocardial infarction, or in other words as heart attack, occurs when no oxygen is able to reach the coronary artery and thus it is unable to fulfil its role in providing the heart muscle with a sufficient supply of blood. Heart attacks are very common in the society nowadays, especially occurring in smokers or obesity related diseases (Millar, June 2014)

Coronary Artery Disease, also known as CAD, is the most common form of heart disease. (Heart and Stroke Foundation, 2009) Coronary Artery Disease obstructs the blood flow in vessels that provides blood to the heart which is caused by the buildup of plaque on the artery walls. (Rogers, 2011, p.87) (Heart and Stroke Foundation, 2009) Plaque is a yellow substance that consists of fat substances, like cholesterol, and narrows or clogs the arteries which prevents blood flow. (Heart and Stroke Foundation, 2009) Plaque can build up in any artery but usually favors large and medium sized arteries. (Heart and Stroke Foundation, 2009)

LDL carries plaque which attaches to the walls of arteries and beings to build up. The plaque is a combination of cholesterol, fat, calcium and other substances. As it builds up over time, it hardens and the arteries become narrow, a condition called atherosclerosis. The blood cannot flow as freely and oxygen cannot get throughout the body as it should. If the plaque ruptures or breaks open, a blood clot can form. If the clot becomes large enough, blood flow is impaired or blocked completely. You may experience extreme pressure or pain in the chest called angina or possible pain in the shoulders, jaw, arms, back, or the discomfort associated with indigestion. This is a heart attack. Heart damage or even death may result if blood flow is not quickly restored. However, arteries leading to other parts of the body can have plaque buildup resulting in strokes, carotid artery disease, and peripheral artery disease. On the other hand, if the HDL is higher, the risk for heart disease is lower.

Heart muscle died as a results of myocardial infarction (MI) which the main coronary arteries was blocked, and large part of the heart muscle was affected due to cellular death from lack of blood flow and oxygen. Cell death is one of the most crucial events in the evolution of MI. A heart attack or MI is usually caused by a blood clot (thrombosis) that forms inside a coronary artery, or one of its branches, which suddenly blocks and stops the blood flowing to a part of the heart muscle. When the blood flow is interrupted necrosis occurs ( McCance & Huether, 2014).

The most common heart disease that most people have is coronary artery disease. Coronary artery disease tends to cause heart attacks. When a substance of plaque builds up in your arteries, heart disease may occur. When plaque builds up, a person’s arteries can narrow over time, limiting blood flow to the heart. This could also block the blood flow. This process is called

Heart disease is formed when plaque buildup thickens and stiffens artery walls. Causing it to

“80% of individuals who suffer [SCD] have coronary heart disease (Zipes and Wellens 2334).” CHD occurs when plaque builds up in the coronary arteries, which provide oxygen-rich blood to the person’s heart. The plaque narrows these arteries, causing reduced blood flow to his or her heart muscle. After a while this area of plaque can rupture, and this could potentially cause a blood clot to begin forming on the surface of the plaque. This blood clot is what ultimately causes a heart attack. Some muscle cells die during a heart attack and are replaced with scar tissue, which damages the heart’s electrical system. Electrical signals might spread abnormally throughout the heart, resulting in SCA in the future. Additionally, countless people are not aware that they have CHD until SCA occurs (“What Causes Sudden Cardiac

Similar to other diseases coronary heart disease affects thousands of people. The disease affects the heart in that it causes a waxy substance called plaque where it builds up inside of the coronary arteries. These arteries supply oxygen-rich blood to the heart muscle. When a person has coronary heart disease the hardened arteries restrict blood flow, which means that the heart cannot receive enough oxygenated blood, especially when it beats quickly during physical exertion or stress. This can cause chest pain and shortness of breath. However, if the artery is completely blocked, a heart attack can occur. Lack of oxygen during a heart attack causes damage as the heart muscle dies and is replaced with scar tissue. If damage is severe, the heart

     Heart attack occurs when a blood clot suddenly and completely blocks a diseased coronary artery, resulting in the death of the heart muscle cells supplied by that artery. Coronary and Coronary Thrombosis 2 are terms that can refer to a heart attack. Another term, Acute Myocardial Infarction 2, means death of heart muscle due to an inadequate blood supply.

A heart attack, also known as a myocardial infarction, usually occurs when a blood clot forms inside a coronary artery at the site of an atherosclerotic plaque. The blood clot severely limits or completely cuts off blood flow to part of the heart. In a small percentage of cases, blood flow is cut off when the muscles in the artery wall contract suddenly, constricting the artery. This constriction, called vasospasm, can occur in an artery that is only slightly narrowed by atherosclerosis or even in a healthy artery. Regardless of the cause of a heart attack, the oxygen deprivation is so severe and prolonged that heart muscle cells begin to die for lack of oxygen. About 1.1 million people in the United States have a heart attack every year;