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- The World Health Organization (WHO) states that 49% of heart attacks worldwide are caused by high blood pressure.
- Health conditions: Underlying health conditions can contribute to the development of a heart attack. These include emotional stress, anger, exposure to cold, exertion from exercise or sex, anemia (low iron and oxygen in the blood), coronary heart disease , atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries), coronary thrombosis (blood clots), embolus (blood clot that comes loose and travels in the bloodstream) arrhythmias (irregular heart beat), Fabry's Disease (genetic disease leading to blood vessel damage), hyperlipidemia (high levels of fat in the blood), electrolyte imbalance (minerals such as potassium and sodium are off balance), shock, severe injury, sleep apnea (pauses in breathing during sleep), hemorrhage (blood loss), electrocution, anaphylactic shock (allergic reaction that affects the entire body), hypoxia (lack of oxygen such as in suffocation), and respiratory failure (not enough oxygen getting into the bloodstream from the lungs).
- Medications: Certain medications may cause a heart attack, including high-dose oral contraceptives such as Necon 1/50 ®, Norinyl 1/50 ®,Ortho-Novum 1/50 ®, and Yasmin ® (due to an increase of blood clots), short-acting nifedipine (Procardia ®) a calcium channel blocker for high blood pressure that was found to increase risk of heart attack for some patients on high doses), ribavirin (Copegus ®; Rebetol ®; Ribasphere ®; Vilona ®,Virazole ®, anti-viral drugs), and Pegatron ® (combination of ribavirin and peginterferon alfa-2b - an immune system agent). Amphetamines, cocaine, methamphetamine, ecstasy, ephedra, and caffeine are stimulants and may also cause a heart attack.
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