Heart Attack Facts

A heart attack usually occurs when a blood clot blocks the blood supply to the heart. It candamage or destroy a part of the heart muscle and if severe can lead to death. Heart attack is also called as myocardial infarction. Heart Attack Facts 1. Heart attack is the No. 1 killer of women, with heart disease responsible for one death in every three women. 2. Heart diseases have emerged as the number one killer in both urban and rural areas. 3. In 2011, 9,811 lives were claimed by heart attack in Australia alone, that is, an average of 27 people per day. 4. All ethnicities are affected by heart disease. Heart disease is the second leading cause of death for Native Americans, Alaskan Natives, African Americans, Hispanics, and whites, Asians and Pacific Islanders. 5. Heart attack does not always have obvious symptoms, such as pain in your chest, breathing problem and cold sweats. In fact, heart attack can happen suddenly without a person knowing it. That is called a silent heart attack. 6. Someone who already had a heart attack may have different symptoms at the second time. 7. It is estimated that over 55,000 Australians suffer from a heart attack every year; this equals to one heart attack every 10 minutes. 8. About 50% of deaths occur within one hour of the heart attack - outside a hospital. 9. Costs related to heart disease exceed 60 billion dollars per year. 10. The lifetime risk for developing heart disease is estimated at 51.7% for men and 39.2% for women. 11. Men are more at risk of heart attack than women because of excessive alcohol consumption, overweight, stress, drugs misuse and smoking. 12. The heart disease risk increases once women reaches menopause Only 36% of Australian women are aware that heart disease is the number one killer. If awareness is low, then women are less likely to see the relevance of taking steps to improve their heart health. 13. 60% of women say that cancer is the leading cause of death among women. Deaths from all cancers in the USA are half as common as deaths from cardiovascular disease. 14. Factors that mainly responsible for heart attack are smoking – both active smoking and being exposed to second-hand smoke, high blood cholesterol levels, high blood pressure, diabetes, physical inactivity, being overweight, depression, social isolation, unhealthy diet and lack of quality support. 15. Research found that air pollution is one of the causes for heart attack. 16. For maintaining a healthy heart, you should aim to include at a least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity (e.g. brisk walking).