Understanding Heart Attack Risks

Your heart's arteries can get clogged just like a dirty pipe. When you eat a lot

of fatty foods, substances like cholesterol and saturated fats literally build up on the

inner walls of your coronary arteries. This narrows the space for blood to flow through.

If a blood clot forms and completely blocks one of these narrowed arteries, the blood supply

to a part of your heart is cut off. Without oxygen, that part of the heart muscle starts

to die. That’s a heart attack. Things like smoking, a diet heavy in unhealthy fats,

and a sedentary lifestyle seriously increase your risk.