Heart Attack – Causes

Transcript

What leads to a heart attack? Well, what leads to plaque buildup? And it’s not necessarily the amount of plaque you have, but the stability of the plaque. And 10% plaque in your artery or 90% plaque in your artery, both have equal propensity for rupture, and it’s that plaque rupture that leads to the heart attack. So it’s really important, not only to reduce plaque and plaque progression, but more importantly to stabilize plaque. Because when a plaque in your artery ruptures, all of a sudden the vessel wall is exposed. And then the patient actually has platelets that kind of adhere to that vessel wall through collagen. And then that adhesion leads to platelet activation where platelets release all kinds of chemicals that attract other platelets and then the platelets, clump together, causing a platelet plug or a clot. And that blocks the artery. And that’s what sets the clock for the patient coming into the hospital and us coming in to try to help them.