Heart Attack - are you at risk? (Part 1)

Take care of our heart.


Every year, several thousand Singaporeans experience a heart attack and many lives are needlessly lost. Some of those cut down are at the prime of their careers. Many of these can be avoided if one can take preventive measures as early as possible in life.

The heart is a muscular pump and it has to pump blood continuously to keep one alive. In order to do this, it needs a continuous supply of oxygen rich blood to its muscle and it receives this through 3 blood vessels called coronary arteries. These are very narrow caliber arteries and in the average person, only about 2-4mm in diameter. As one grows older, these arteries can slowly get choked or obstructed by deposition of cholesterol or other fatty substances.

The commonest risk factors for developing these blockages are high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes mellitus, smoking, a strong family history and ethnic origin. Other risk factors include obesity, lack of exercise and a stressful lifestyle. Heart disease is also much more common in middle-aged males than in females as females appear to be protected by their hormonal make-up. However, in later life, the risk for both males and females appears to be equal. In some families, there appears to be a genetic predisposition to heart disease and if one has relatives or parents who have had heart attacks at any early age, then this becomes an additional risk factor. The more risk factors one has, the higher the risk of getting a heart attack. It is therefore important to assess one’s risk early in life so that preventive measure can be instituted as early as possible.