A heart attack is one of the scariest medical conditions one can suffer. It happens when a part of the heart muscle doesn't get enough blood. The more time that passes without treatment to restore blood flow, the greater the damage to the heart muscle. There could be several different underlying reasons that can trigger a heart attack.

Professor Ramazan Özdemir, dean of the Faculty of Medicine at Bezmialem Vakıf University, said that cardiovascular diseases were the group of diseases that causes the most deaths in the world. Heart diseases used to be seen above a certain age, but nowadays they have become much more prevalent and can even be seen in children.

"This situation arises from societies' habits, eating habits and inactivity. Especially in the age of computers, the fact that children move much less and constantly consume ready-made foods increases the risks of cardiovascular diseases," he said.

Explaining that there are structures called "plaques" in the veins, Özdemir stated that the sudden and excessive rise of hormones, sudden and extreme stress, sudden joy or sadness can cause these plaques to rupture and clots to form, causing a heart attack.

"In a person who receives very sad or very pleasing news, sudden heart attacks and sudden death may occur as a result of the sudden rise of certain hormones, especially adrenaline, in the blood, the cracking of the plaques on the walls of the heart vessels and the formation of clots due to this, and sometimes due to rhythm disturbances," Özdemir stated.

"So, sudden joy and sudden sadness can have more or less the same effect. A rapid increase in heart or blood hormones can cause the plaques in the vessels to crack, causing a clot to form and cause a heart attack. Besides, it can cause arrhythmia and be fatal. Of course, you cannot take precautions against good news," he said.

According to the data from the Turkish Ministry of Health, 20% of those who have had a heart attack die if they do not seek treatment at a health institution, while the risk of death decreases to 8% in those who seek treatment.

Professor Erdem Diker, head of cardiology at Bayındır Söğütözü Hospital, gave information on the symptoms and treatment methods of heart attacks.

Diker stated that atherosclerosis, which is caused by the accumulation of cholesterol, calcium and connective tissue in the inner wall of the vessel, plays a role in the formation of the clot that causes the heart attack.

"While these accumulated substances cause narrowing in the vein, they also disrupt the smooth inner surface of the vein. Disrupting the integrity of the smooth surface that prevents the formation of clots creates a suitable environment for a clot to form and occlude the vessel at any time. However, the mechanisms in our body that prevent the formation of a clot or dissolve the formed clot immediately reduce the risk. Although the exact cause of a clot that blocks a vein is not known, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and uncontrolled diabetes increase the risk of heart attack significantly.

The regular use of cholesterol-lowering drugs causes the risky structures that form clots in the vein to lose this feature to a large extent. For this reason, the risk of heart attack decreases significantly when cholesterol-lowering drugs are used in patients with atherosclerosis. However, smoking has the opposite effect. Each cigarette further deteriorates the vascular structure, increasing the risk of clot formation exponentially. On the other hand, the risk of sudden clot formation in the heart vessels may increase with the effect of hormones secreted in unexpected stress situations such as sudden anger and sadness.

Diker reported that hardening and calcification in the heart vessels are a part of the aging process.

"Our genetic inheritance from the family plays a big role in this process. These are risk factors that cannot be changed. However, it is in our own hands to fight high cholesterol levels, high blood pressure and high sugar levels. When these risks are controlled, the risk of heart attack is significantly reduced," Diker explained.

"Not smoking or quitting smoking is the greatest favor that can be done for the veins. It is also important to remember that paying attention to our weight and taking regular walks will also make additional contributions," he urged.

Diker concluded by stating that the severe chest pain that occurs at the time of a heart attack is the heart's cry for help and pointed out that the first hours of a heart attack are of critical importance.