Do you usually have to be diagnosed with heart disease to have a heart attack or you can have one if you have risk factors?

No warning: There are over 900,000 heart attacks in the US each year; almost half of them occur without prior symptoms/warning signs including a diagnosis of heart disease. Most of these individuals DO have one or more risk factors: smoking, hypertension, diabetes, high cholesterol. family history, older age, male. Best approach: know and control risk factors as much as you can:)

Can have if (+) risk: Many patient with heart attack have no history of heart disease. The more risk factors you have the more your risk: (+)Family history of heart attack in a male age 55 or younger or female by age 65 or younger. (+)Tobacco smoking (+)Diabetes (+)High cholesterol or triglycerides (+)Lack of exercise (+)Obesity (+)High Blood Pressure (+)being a male over 45 years old or female over 55 years

Drivers, called Risk: Factors, are the key issue. Artery disease, by autopsy studies going back 8 decades, is present in 1/2 of the population by age 7, younger last 30-40 years. Events due to plaque rupture(s), usually asymptomatic despite damage & occur suddenly. Thus waiting for events very foolish, though normal/popular. Main drivers Lipoproteins (Not cholesterol), blood glucose not low & systolic BP not <120 mmHg.