What is a heart attack?
A heart attack (also known as a myocardial infarction) is the death of heart muscle from the sudden blockage of a coronary artery by a blood clot. Coronary arteries are blood vessels that supply the heart muscle with blood and oxygen. Blockage of a coronary artery deprives the heart muscle of blood and oxygen, causing injury to the heart muscle. Injury to the heart muscle causes chest pain and chest pressure sensation. If blood flow is not restored to the heart muscle within 20 to 40 minutes, irreversible death of the heart muscle will begin to occur. Muscle continues to die for six to eight hours at which time the heart attack usually is “complete.” The dead heart muscle is eventually replaced by scar tissue. Approximately one million Americans suffer a heart attack each year. Four hundred thousand of them die as a result of their heart attack. What causes a heart attack? Atherosclerosis Atherosclerosis is a gradual process by which plaques (collections) of cholesterol are deposited i
A heart attack is the death of heart muscle caused by blockage of a coronary artery. Medically referred to as a myocardial infarction, a heart attack occurs when a coronary artery is blocked, depriving the heart of blood and oxygen. This deprivation to the heart causes chest pain and pressure, injury to the heart, and possibly death. Though a heart attack occurs suddenly, the cause can be sudden or gradual. The leading cause of heart attack is artherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries, due to the build up of plaque caused by cholesterol deposits. If artherosclerosis occurs in the coronary arteries, the gradual narrowing of these arteries begins to have an impact on the heart muscle and eventually leads to a heart attack. Similarly, a blood clot can also create a blockage of a coronary artery ending in the same result. The symptoms of a heart attack include chest pain and pressure, shortness of breath, arm and upper back pain along with possible nausea or vomiting. However, medical
A heart attack (also called “myocardial infarction”) occurs when a blood vessel supplying blood to a part of the heart becomes blocked, resulting in permanent damage to the heart muscle due to the lack of blood flow. The blood vessel can become blocked from advancing atherosclerotic plaque lesions, a sudden formation of a blood clot, or from the spasming of a coronary artery – an artery that supplies blood to the heart. Most people believe that a heart attack is caused by a slow, progressive build-up of plaque, comforting themselves that it takes a lifetime to become completely clogged – but this just isn’t true for a majority of heart attacks. Heart specialists now believe that most heart attacks occur when an unstable, atherosclerotic plaque lesion, filled with cholesterol and fat, suddenly breaks apart, thus forming an open wound within the artery wall. Blood platelets and clotting proteins rush to the wound and form a clot — called a thrombus. The clot can enlarge in a matter of mo
