Causes of heart attack and cardiac arrest in teenagers

Causes of heart attack and cardiac arrest in teenagers

A heart attack occurs when blood flow to a part of the heart muscle stops. Heart attacks in teenagers can be caused by rare genetic diseases, such as familial homozygous hypercholesterolemia, which increases blood cholesterol levels, and some rare diseases that affect the blood vessels of the heart, such as Kawasaki disease.

Cardiac arrest means the heart stops working completely. A heart attack can lead to cardiac arrest. Inherited diseases like Congenital long QT syndrome and Brugada syndrome that cause cardiac arrhythmias and can also cause cardiac arrest in adolescents.