What can cause a heart attack?

Answer 1

Imagine A and B are both arteries leading to the heart. B is partially clogged by plaque build up.

() A

() B

The lower one (b.) is semi-clogged and thus does not provide as much oxygen to muscles such as the heart. The Heart muscle will begin to die if not treated quickly.

Answer 2

When an artery that supplies blood to the heart becomes obstructed by a clot, that area of the heart becomes damaged. If the blood supply is not restored quick enough, the heart can be permanently damaged. If the artery that gets clogged is a major artery, then the heart can fail and death can occur.

Another type of heart attack is cardiac arrest. This is where the electrical impulses that tell the heart when to beat and when to rest becomes erratic. The confusion in electrical impulses confuses the heart and it beats in an erratic rate. Not pumping effectively any longer, the blood pressure drops and the person becomes unconscious. If the proper rhythm can not be reestablished quickly, death will occur.

Answer 3

The most common cause of heart attack is the sudden blockage of one of the heart's arteries by a blood clot. These clots typically form in arteries that are already affected by atherosclerosis - that is, the arteries are narrowed by fatty deposits of plaque and other materials.

Atherosclerosis can cause a heart attack in one of three ways.

• The fatty plaque can cut off blood supply by completely blocking a coronary artery.
• The plaque can tear or rupture, causing a blood clot to form. The blood clot may become large enough to close off the artery. This type of heart attack is called a coronary thrombosis or coronary occlusion.
• Narrowed arteries may not be able to supply enough oxygen-rich blood. This could cause the heart to beat with an abnormal rhythm called an arrhythmia.

Other Causes

• an abnormal tendency of the blood to clot called hypercoagulability
• collagen vascular disease such as rheumatoid arthritis or systemic lupus erythematosus
• cocaine use
• a small traveling blood clot called an embolus that gets stuck in a coronary artery

Answer 4

A serious blockage in the artery can lead to one.

Answer 5

If a coronary artery becomes blocked by saturated fats/cholesterol it can cause a heart attack.

Answer 6

blood stops flowing in the heart and you pretty much choke and stop breathing. (: thnks

Answer 7

Plaque builds up in the arteries and when there's enough of it, it stops the flow of blood to the body. Death quickly follows.

Answer 8

by not eating cherios