Guide To Heart Attack Causes And Risk Factors

Diabetes

An individual affected by diabetes is at an increased risk of having a heart attack. The combined risk of death, heart attack, and stroke in diabetes patients are twice as high as in individuals who do not have diabetes. A heart attack is known to be the prevailing top cause of death among individuals affected by type 2 diabetes. Most mechanisms responsible for this increased risk factor are associated with processes that occur due to high blood sugar. Numerous processes and substances have been implicated in promoting atherosclerosis in conditions of hyperglycemia, including polyol pathway, protein kinase C, the formation of AGE, hexosamine pathway, and lipoxygenase pathway. Other mechanisms and substances that involve the furtherance of macrovascular complications in addition to those precipitated by hyperglycemia are known to play a role in the increased risk of a heart attack. These substances and mechanisms include hyperlipidemia, apelin, adiponectin, leptin, lipoprotein lipase, fatty acid-binding protein aP2, C peptide, haptoglobin, and thromboxane receptor A2.