What is the most common cause of a heart attack?

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Multiple Choice

What is the most common cause of a heart attack?

A heart attack is most often caused by a blockage in a coronary artery due to ruptured atherosclerotic plaques. In severe CAD, plaques build up over time and can rupture, exposing factors that trigger rapid platelet clumping and thrombus (blood clot) formation, which can abruptly occlude the artery and cut off blood supply to part of the heart muscle, leading to infarction. Hypertension contributes to heart attack risk by stressing the heart and promoting vascular disease, but it doesn’t typically cause the sudden blockage by itself. Valve prolapse is a valvular issue, not a common cause of myocardial infarction. Coronary vasospasm can cause chest pain and sometimes MI, but it is much less common than plaque rupture with thrombosis.

A heart attack is most often caused by a blockage in a coronary artery due to ruptured atherosclerotic plaques. In severe CAD, plaques build up over time and can rupture, exposing factors that trigger rapid platelet clumping and thrombus (blood clot) formation, which can abruptly occlude the artery and cut off blood supply to part of the heart muscle, leading to infarction.

Hypertension contributes to heart attack risk by stressing the heart and promoting vascular disease, but it doesn’t typically cause the sudden blockage by itself. Valve prolapse is a valvular issue, not a common cause of myocardial infarction. Coronary vasospasm can cause chest pain and sometimes MI, but it is much less common than plaque rupture with thrombosis.

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