Causes and effect of heart attack

Cardiovascular disease is a group of disease which composes a few types, includes heart
attack, heart failure and heart infection. Among these, heart attack is the main cause of death in
Malaysia, which constitutes about 15.6% of death in year 2018. i The statistic has shown an increase
of 1.7% in comparison to the previous year. The continuous rise of death is s worrying sign and yet
citizens are not aware of serious complications. It is not only a burden to the patient, but also
healthcare system due to increase number of cases annually. Therefore, recognizing the causes and
effect of heart attack is important in preventing the incident rate.

Firstly, the main reason of heart attack is due to sedentary lifestyle. Dangers of sedentary
lifestyle cannot be underestimated, it affects health in many ways. Prolong period of inactivity can
reduce metabolism rate and impair body’s ability to regulate blood pressure and sugar level. Apart
from that, heart muscle will gradually become weak and unable to reach the body’s demand when the
body is in stressful condition. As a result, irregular heart rhythm may occur and causes heart attack in
young adult. To combat heart attack resulted from sedentary lifestyle, one can start with moderate
intensity exercises such as brisk walking and yoga. By increasing the level of activity, it helps to
increase good cholesterol level and reduce the bad cholesterol occlusion. World health organization
also recommends at least 150 minutes of exercise weekly to prevent cardiovascular disease.

Moreover, high blood pressure is also another constituting factor of heart attack. High blood
pressure is defined as blood pressure that is more than 140/90mmHg. There are more than 35.5% of
Malaysian adults is diagnosed as hypertension as stated in National Health and Morbidity Survey in
2015.ii Uncontrolled blood pressure patient has higher risk of heart attack. When the pressure is too
high, the heart requires more effort to pump the blood to supply the body tissue function. The blood
vessel of hypertensive patient is also stiffer than normotensive individuals, high pressure is needed to
overcome the resistant and it makes the heart circulation becomes poor. Therefore, a good control of
blood pressure is important in reducing the occurrence of heart attack.

Furthermore, heart attack has a strong relationship with unhealthy dietary patterns. Poor
quality diets are food that rich in sugar, salt, trans-fat with poor nutrition content. High added sugar
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consumption will increase the chance of heart disease as shown in few studies. Besides, trans-fat is
commonly found in processed food and it is a type of artificial unsaturated fat that is bad for health. It
will also cause lipids build up in the blood vessels and gradually cause blood vessel occlusion and
consequently deprivation of blood supply to the heart tissue. As a result, heart cannot function at its
optimum level and leading to heart attack. Risk of heart disease can be minimized by adapting healthy
dietary pattern. One should replace unbalanced diet by introducing meals that contains variety of
fruits and vegetables, low-fat dairy products and whole grains in averting risk of heart disease.
 Smoking is the main contributor of heart disease development. The tobacco smoke which
contains high level of carbon monoxide will cause heart disease by depleting the oxygen supply in the
blood. Consequently, vital organs for instance heart, brain and lungs are not able to perform its
function to meet the body demand. Nicotine in the cigarette also promote cardiovascular disease
event. It works by increasing the heart rate, blood pressure and reducing blood flow due to formation
of clots from chemical compounds. Blockage of clots can cause heart attack and sudden death.
Nevertheless, the risk of heart disease can be lowered down by smoking cessation. To help the
individuals from quitting smoking, the Ministry of Health has set up ‘Stop Smoking Clinic’ to provide
advice and treatment to the public. In short, smoking is known as the most preventable cause of heart
attack and non-smoker also in risk due to exposure of secondhand smoke. iv

Another non-modifiable risk factor of heart disease is gender. Studies suggest that male at
younger age is more prone than female in getting heart disease. v The exact reason is not known, but it
is believed that man adapts unhealthy lifestyle and living in stressful condition is to be blamed for the
cause. In contrast, heart disease risk appears to rise after menopause. This is due to decline of estrogen
hormone and experts believe that estrogen has a protective role in young female. There are no ways in
preventing the hormone from reducing, but one can avoid mental health stress such as anxiety,
depression and marital stress.

In conclusion, there are countless of reasons in development of heart disease. Immediate

medical management is also needed in treating heart attack patient, delay in treatment can increase the
damage to heart, and it can lead to death certainly. Even though heart disease is dangerous, but it can
be prevented in many ways. To prevent this from deteriorating, the government is working closely
with the non-government organizations (NGO) by organizing campaign to raise public awareness in
promoting cardiovascular health. Public is urged to control modifiable risk factors and take their
cardiovascular fitness seriously. Routine screening is also advisable for high risk individuals to detect
heart disease early.

References:
i
Department of Statistics Malaysia Official Portal [Internet]. Dosm.gov.my. 2019 [cited 20 March 2020]. Available
from: https://www.dosm.gov.my/v1/index.php?
r=column/cthemeByCat&cat=401&bul_id=RUxlSDNkcnRVazJnakNCNVN2VGgrdz09&menu_id=L0pheU43NWJwR
WVSZklWdzQ4TlhUUT09

Nur Liana AM, Mohd AO, Yi Yi K, et al. Prevalence, awareness, treatment and control of hypertension in the
ii

Malaysian population: findings from the National Health and Morbidity Survey 2006-2015. J Human Hypertens. 2018.
(https://doi.org/10.1038/ s41371-018-0082-x

Barbara VH. Sugar and Cardiovascular Disease | Circulation [Internet]. Ahajournals.org. 2002 [cited 21 March 2020].
iii

Available from: https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/full/10.1161/01.CIR.0000019552.77778.04

Cdc.gov. 2014 [cited 21 March 2020]. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/sgr/50th-

iv

anniversary/pdfs/fs_smoking_CVD_508.pdf

v
The heart attack gender gap [Internet]. Harvard Health. 2016 [cited 21 March 2020]. Available from:
https://www.health.harvard.edu/heart-health/the-heart-attack-gender-gap