Heart Attack Triggers

July 1, 2007

Surprising heart attack and stroke triggers—from waking up to volcanoes

Heart attacks, strokes, and cardiac arrests seem like they come out of the blue, but most don’t. They usually appear after cholesterol-rich plaque has festered in the arteries that nourish the heart and brain. So what makes one happen at a particular time? A trigger, reports the July 2007 issue of the Harvard Heart Letter.

Important triggers include:

Waking from sleep. Before you wake up, your body trickles stress hormones into the bloodstream. This helps you get up, but also slightly stresses the heart. That, along with dehydration that occurs overnight and the overnight fade in protection from heart medicines, may explain why heart attacks are most common in the morning.

Heavy physical exertion. Shoveling snow, running, and other strenuous activities can be triggers. But don’t be afraid to exercise—exertion is much less likely to cause trouble in people who exercise regularly.

Anger. A bout of anger can increase the chances of having a heart attack up to 14-fold during the following two hours.

Infections. Pneumonia, flu, and other infections can be potent triggers for heart attacks and strokes.

Other triggers include sexual activity, overeating, severe hot or cold weather, air pollution, natural disasters, drug use, grief, and lack of sleep.

Of course, most people with heart disease get out of bed in the morning, shovel snow, make love, get angry, and suffer through the flu just fine. Still, knowing what sets off heart attacks, strokes, or cardiac arrests can help you avoid triggers or blunt their power, says the Harvard Heart Letter.

Also in this issue:

• Heart disease prevention for women
• LDL, HDL, VLDL: A cholesterol road map
• Drive-through angioplasty?
• Ask the doctor: Is warfarin turning my toes purple? What causes C-reactive protein levels to vary? Can you really prevent heart disease?

	Click to enlarge		The Healthy Heart: Preventing, detecting, and treating coronary artery disease It doesn’t make sense: Heart disease is one of the most preventable of all diseases and yet it’s America’s number-one killer and has been every year since 1921. But you can avoid becoming a heart disease statistic. The Healthy Heart: Preventing, detecting, and treating coronary artery disease provides everything you need to know about preventing and treating coronary artery disease. Read more Printed Version: $16.00 Electronic Download (PDF): $16.00 Print + Electronic Download (PDF): $24.00

Harvard Heart Letter is available from Harvard Health Publications, the publishing division of the Harvard Medical School. You can subscribe at www.health.harvard.edu/heart or by calling 1-877-649-9457 toll-free.

About Harvard Health Publications
Harvard Health Publications publishes five monthly newsletters—Harvard Health Letter, Harvard Women's Health Watch, Harvard Men's Health Watch, Harvard Mental Health Letter, and Harvard Heart Letter—as well as more than 50 special health reports and books drawing on the expertise of the 8,000 faculty physicians at Harvard Medical School and its world-famous affiliated hospitals. For more information about Harvard Medical School publications, please visit our Web site, www.health.harvard.edu.

Source: Harvard Health Publications
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