Heart attacks and heart disease unfortunately are a sad fact of a life with our current state of health and affairs.  The numbers are on the rise, largely due to poor diet choices, as well as environmental toxins, and bad health habits.  Below are a few heart attack statistics and facts that should shed a bit of light on what’s really going on with our health.

Heart Attack Statistics and Facts:

There are about 500,000 deaths resulting from a heart attack in the U.S. each year.  That number is out of the nearly 1.5 million heart attacks that actually occur each year in the U.S.

Annually, more than 233,000 women die of some sort of cardiovascular disease.  Sudden death is much more common in women experiencing a heart attack.

About every 20 seconds, somewhere a heart attack occurs.  Some one dies from a heart attack every minute.

It’s been shown that almost 14 million people in America have a history of either heart attacks or angina.

How is this for a heart attack statistic-  50% of deaths that happen, happen within an hour of the heart attack, outside of the hospital.

For those that are lucky enough to survive long enough to reach a hospital, they have an early mortality rate of 6- 9%.

Common times that heart attacks occur have been shown to be early morning, when blood platelets are stickier, and also Monday morning.  Saturday morning comes in a close second.

Deaths from all types of cancer through out the U.S. are still half as common as the deaths triggered by cardiovascular disease.

These are just a few of the many heart attack statistics available.  Run a search through Google, and you are sure to find many more where that came from.  Those are some very scary numbers!

There are many things a person can do to prevent heart disease and reduce their risks: cardio workouts either on an electric treadmill or through an actual aerobic class can help, also, eating foods low in cholesterol and “bad” fats can also reduce one’s risk for heart disease.

Coronary heart disease causes and symptoms are pretty much similar to other heart disease causes and symptoms.  The number one contributor to coronary heart disease causes is a disease called atherosclerosis, which is what happens when plaque builds up on the walls of blood vessels and arteries.  This will cause the blood vessels to harden and narrow which means less blood reaches the heart.

In coronary heart disease, this happens to the coronary arteries.  This can cause a rupture of the vessel, which in turn will cause a blood clot.  The blood clot will cover the ruptured area, in which blood flow has already been greatly reduced, and reduce it even more.  The clot hardens and even less blood reaches the heart the way it’s supposed to.

Cardiac ishemia then happens, which is one of the coronary heart disease causes.  This is when blood supply is cut off, and if it happens abruptly, a heart attack occurs, robbing the heart muscle of necessary oxygen.  Cells begin to die and the damage to the heart can be permanent.

Coronary heart disease causes and symptoms can vary.  In many cases, some people feel no pain or discomfort whatsoever.  Still others experience chest pain and shortness of breath.  In some cases, the only symptom or warning one might get is cardiac arrest or a heart attack itself!

In men, angina can be a possible symptom.  In women, it often feels more like indigestion or shortness of breath than typical angina.  Often this less typical form of angina may not be eased by rest or caused  by exertion.  Any of these can be coronary heart disease causes and should be closely monitored by your doctor in order to provide the best protection to your heart and health.