Heart-Healthy Holidays
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Causes
Causes include:
- Thickening of the walls of the arteries feeding the heart muscle
- Accumulation of fatty plaques within the coronary arteries
- Sudden spasm of a coronary artery
- Narrowing of the coronary arteries
- Inflammation within the coronary arteries
- Development of a blood clot within the coronary arteries that blocks blood flow
Risk Factors
Major risk factors include:
- Sex: male (men have a greater risk of heart attack than women)
- Age: 45 and older for men, 55 and older for women
- Heredity: strong family history of heart disease
- Obesity and being overweight
- Smoking
- High blood pressure
- Sedentary lifestyle
- High blood cholesterol (specifically, high LDL cholesterol, and low HDL cholesterol)
- Diabetes
- Depression*³
Other risk factors include:
- Stress
- Excessive alcohol use
- Metabolic syndrome —combination of high blood pressure, abdominal obesity, and insulin resistance
Please be aware that this information is provided to supplement the care provided by your physician. It is neither intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice. CALL YOUR HEALTHCARE PROVIDER IMMEDIATELY IF YOU THINK YOU MAY HAVE A MEDICAL EMERGENCY. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider prior to starting any new treatment or with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Copyright © 2026 EBSCO Publishing All rights reserved.