What are the heart attack risk factors?
Hello!
Have you ever asked yourself what is the risk that one day you could have a heart attack?
Heart attack is a very severe condition, when your heart's muscle, called myocardium, loses the property of pumping because of the oxygen loss.
So, how do you think, are you in the risk group of having a heart attack one day?
In this short video, I will talk about the heart attack risk factors and the probability that one day you may have encounter this condition
The most exposed to the risks of having a heart attack are man and women after 40 years old. Usually, heart attack doesn't affect younger people, as their cardiovascular system is more flexible and can overpass easier the oxygen deficiency. More than 80 % of those dying from heart attack are older than 65 years old.
Getting older is a risk factor that you can't change - it is a factor which we can't influence on. Among such factors, on which we have no control is our genetic predisposition of having a heart disease. If in you family (parents, grandparents) suffer or suffered a heart disease, the probability that you will have some cardiac disorders increases.
Another such unchangeable factor is your gender - it is considered that males are most exposed to the risk of having a heart attack than women. This is because of the many influencing factors such excessive smoking, lifestyle, fats excesses, and more.
But this doesn't mean women aren't exposed also to heart attacks - it is considered that myocardial infarction, which is the scientific name of heart attack, is killing twice more women in United States than breast cancer.
Ok, as I said, there are factors we can't change (age, genetics, gender) and we have risk factors that can be controlled. Such risk factors are:
- Smoking - risk increases more than 3 times, even for passive nonsmokers
- High blood cholesterol level - which is affected by age, sex, hereditary and diet
- High blood pressure - in increased blood pressure, the coronaries become thicker and stiffer
- Sedentary lifestyle with a lack of physical activity - some pulse-raising daily activity can help control your diabetes, blood pressure and the body weight
- Obesity and overweight - it increases the heart work, and losing even 10 pounds, which is 4,5 kilograms, may decrease your chances of having a heart attack
- Diabetes mellitus - 2 of 3 persons suffering diabetes die because of some cardiovascular disorders, so it is trivial to work with your medical assistant to achieve the maximum control on your diabetes
Also, there are some factors, considered to be minor, but which have also an influence on your risk of developing a heart attack. These are:
- Stress - daily stress may be harmful, especially in persons which use to suffer from emotional problems, and are exposed to some stressing factors
- Drinking alcohol - even researchers say a moderate of alcohol may be benefic for our heart, excesses may cause serious disorders. It is considered that a safe dose is a drink per day for women and two drinks - for man.
How much is a drink?
1.5 fluid ounces (44ml) of vodka, gin, scotch
or 4 fluid ounces (120ml) of wine
or 12 fluid ounces of beer (350 ml in European metric system)
But this is not advice for nondrinkers to start drinking; these are the safe doses for drinkers and an advice for them to not exceed these limits.
I think this video helped you understand better what the heart attack risks are. It is your duty now to take care of your heart and avoid heart diseases.
If you are interested in heart attack problems, please visit my site at allheartattack.com where I publish more on myocardial infarction. See you soon in on of my next videos.
Till then, stay healthy!
AHA Scientific Position on MI risk factors
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