Exercise can trigger a heart attack, but that doesn\u2019t mean you shouldn\u2019t work out.<\/p>\n
Actor Alan Thicke died after a <\/span>heart attack<\/span><\/span> <\/span>on Tuesday, <\/span>TMZ reported. But why do some people survive <\/span>heart attacks<\/span><\/span>, while others don\u2019t?<\/p>\n Heart attacks <\/span>occur when blood flow to the heart muscle is blocked, starving the muscle tissue of oxygen, which causes damage. Thicke, who was 69, was playing ice hockey with his son when he suffered his heart attack on Dec. 13. The \u201cGrowing Pains\u201d star was pronounced dead shortly afterward in the hospital.<\/p>\n For <\/span>a heart attack<\/span><\/span> <\/span>to quickly lead to death, the damage to the heart needs to be great enough to cause the heart to beat irregularly and eventually stop entirely, said Dr. Suzanne Steinbaum, a preventive cardiologist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. Steinbaum was not involved in Thicke\u2019s case. <\/p>\n The <\/span>irregular heartbeats<\/span><\/span> <\/span>that result from the lack of oxygen start from <\/span>the bottom of the heart, and aren\u2019t strong enough to generate blood flow, Steinbaum told Live Science. When this occurs, \u201cthe heart becomes very agitated,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n The heartbeat becomes more of a quiver than a decisive pump, which is also called fibrillation, and blood stops flowing, Steinbaum said. This can quickly lead to the heart stopping, she said.<\/p>\n But heart attacks don\u2019t always kill instantly.<\/p>\n It\u2019s also possible that the damage to the heart muscle doesn\u2019t lead to an irregular heartbeat until a little while after the heart attack occurred, Steinbaum said.<\/p>\n And a person can also <\/span>die from a heart attack <\/span>that causes no irregular heartbeat at all \u2014 the heart muscle can be so damaged from the lack of oxygen that the heart can no longer pump enough blood, which can lead to death, she said. <\/p>\n For death to occur immediately or shortly after a heart attack, there had to be a very large blockage that damaged a lot of the heart muscle, Steinbaum added.<\/p>\n It\u2019s unclear what <\/span>symptoms<\/span><\/span> <\/span>and risk factors Thicke had, if any, before his heart attack.<\/p>\n But people can have <\/span>a heart attack<\/span><\/span> <\/span>even if there were no symptoms leading up to it, Steinbaum said.<\/p>\n Often when this happens, the heart attack is the result of a ruptured plaque in a person\u2019s artery, Steinbaum said. Plaques are buildups of cholesterol and inflammatory cells that form along the wall of a blood vessel, partially blocking it. If a plaque ruptures, the body sends platelets to fix the rupture, which leads to more blockage that eventually cuts off blood flow to the heart, she said.<\/p>\n It is possible that exercise, which causes a person\u2019s heart rate and <\/span>blood pressure <\/span>to increase, can lead to a ruptured plaque, she said.<\/p>\n But this doesn\u2019t mean that people shouldn\u2019t exercise, Steinbaum said. Rather, this is why you always hear, \u201cConsult with your doctor before starting an exercise program,\u201d she said. When a person exercises, the body\u2019s demand for oxygen goes up, and if a person has a blockage in their arteries, it\u2019s hard to get enough oxygen. This can cause symptoms of a heart attack, she said. <\/p>\n Steinbaum said that <\/span>heart disease <\/span>is preventable 80 percent of the time. Heart attacks usually stem from a person\u2019s risk factors, such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol and a sedentary lifestyle, she said. Age also plays a role: For men, risk of a heart attack goes up after age 55, she said. <\/p>\n <\/p>\n\n Exercise can trigger a heart attack, but that doesn\u2019t mean you shouldn\u2019t work out. Actor Alan Thicke died after a heart attack on Tuesday, TMZ reported. But why do some people survive heart attacks, while others don\u2019t? Heart attacks occur when blood flow to the heart muscle is blocked, starving the muscle tissue of oxygen, which causes damage. Thicke, who …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4834,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[709,708],"yoast_head":"\nRisk factors and symptoms<\/h4>\n