There are many risk factors that significantly increase your chances of suffering from various heart conditions. To live a healthy life, it is extremely important to control and reduce these risk factors. This is because approximately 30% of all people who experience a heart attack don’t survive and about 20% of all deaths are somehow related to heart conditions.

A person experiences heart attack when there is a partial blockage in the coronary arteries, which prevents blood and oxygen from flowing through. This does not allow your heart to perform its normal functions, thereby causing pain in the chest, jaw, neck, or arm. It can also cause palpitations and you might find it difficult to breathe. Complete blockage of arteries can result in the death of a part of your heart muscle.

The walls of the arteries don’t get clogged immediately; it is a slow and gradual process. In the attempt to repair the damage, your body might lead to a buildup of calcium, cholesterol, fat, and various other substances in the artery walls. This causes the walls of the arteries to become narrower. The accumulated plaque hardens up into a fibrous cap, which can then rupture and form a blood clot. This blood clot goes on to cause heart attack by blocking the arteries. Explained below are five of the most common causes of heart disease.

High Cholesterol

High cholesterol level can lead to hardening of arteries, which can in turn cause a heart attack or stroke. You need to have high levels of good cholesterol (HDL) and low levels of bad cholesterol (LDL) in your blood. Having high levels of LDL cholesterol is bad as it gets stored into the arteries.

Type 2 Diabetes

People who suffer from type 2 diabetes are at a much higher risk of suffering from various health issues, including heart disease. Therefore, diabetics should be extra careful about their diet and avoid junk foods, processed foods, and sugary foods. Not getting control over diabetes is bound to cause heart conditions among several other health complications.

High Blood Pressure

High blood pressure is among the major risk factors for heart disease. It becomes even more dangerous if you are already a victim of diabetes. People who constantly suffer from high blood pressure and fail to take corrective measures on time are very likely to experience heart failure.

Smoking

The carcinogens present in cigarettes increase the risk of heart disease since they get absorbed into the bloodstream. The nicotine permeates the blood that pumps through your heart, making it thicker and leading to the development of clots.

Nicotine can trigger a heart attack since it has an adverse effect on the valves in your heart. Smoking cigarettes is also one of the major causes of several other medical conditions.

Hence, smokers should quit smoking and non-smokers must stay away from this unhealthy addiction.

Stress

Emotional stress, over a period of time, can damage your body in a number of ways. Chronic stress causes adrenaline rush, changes the mood of an individual, and increases the risk of many health problems, including heart attack. Depression, anxiety, and other emotional and mental issues are also bad for your heart health. Exercise, massage, meditation, deep breathing exercises, yoga, and aromatherapy are a few good ways of managing your stress level.