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What Is a Heart Attack?
A happens when something blocks the blood flow to your so it can’t get the oxygen it needs.
More than a million Americans have heart attacks each year. Heart attacks are also called myocardial infarctions (MI). "Myo" means muscle, "cardial" refers to the heart, and "infarction" means death of tissue because of a lack of supply. This tissue death can cause lasting damage to your heart muscle..
Symptoms can be different from person to person or from one heart attack to another. Women are more likely to have these
With some heart attacks, you won’t notice any symptoms (a "silent" myocardial infarction). This is more common in people who have
Angina isn’t a condition or disease. It’s a symptom, and sometimes it can signal a heart attack. The sensations may occur with normal activities or exertion but then go away with rest or when you take
You may feel:
If you instead have “stable” angina, which is the most common kind, your symptoms usually happen with predictable triggers (such as a strong emotion, extreme hot and cold temperatures, or even a heavy meal). The symptoms go away if you rest or take nitroglycerin that your doctor has prescribed. If not, call 911.
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calcium, proteins, and inflammatory cells build up in your arteries to form plaques. These plaque deposits are hard on the outside and soft and mushy on the inside.
When the plaque is hard, the outer shell cracks. This is called a rupture. Platelets (disc-shaped things in your blood that help it clot) come to the area, and form around the plaque. If a blocks your artery, your heart muscle becomes starved for oxygen. The muscle cells soon die, causing permanent damage.
Rarely, a spasm in your coronary artery can also cause a heart attack. During this coronary spasm, your arteries restrict or spasm on and off, cutting off the blood supply to your heart muscle It can happen while you’re at rest and even if you don’t have serious coronary artery disease.
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Each coronary artery sends blood to a different part of your heart muscle. How much the muscle is damaged depends on the size of the area that the blocked artery supplies and the amount of time between the attack and treatment.
Your heart muscle starts to heal soon after a heart attack. This takes about 8 weeks. Just like a wound, a scar forms in the damaged area. But the new scar tissue doesn’t move the way it should. So your heart can’t pump as much after a heart attack. How much that ability to pump is affected depends on the size and location of the scar
A happens when something blocks the blood flow to your so it can’t get the oxygen it needs.
More than a million Americans have heart attacks each year. Heart attacks are also called myocardial infarctions (MI). "Myo" means muscle, "cardial" refers to the heart, and "infarction" means death of tissue because of a lack of supply. This tissue death can cause lasting damage to your heart muscle..
Heart Attack Symptoms
Symptoms of a heart attack include:- Discomfort, pressure, heaviness, tightness, squeezing, or in your chest or arm or below your breastbone
- Discomfort that goes into your back, jaw, throat, or arm
- Fullness, , or a choking feeling (it may feel like heartburn) vomiting, or dizziness
- Severe weakness, or shortness of breath
- Fast or uneven heartbeat
Symptoms can be different from person to person or from one heart attack to another. Women are more likely to have these
- Unusual
- Shortness of breath
- Nausea or vomiting
- Dizziness or lightheadedness
- Discomfort in your gut. It may feel like
- Discomfort in the neck, or upper back
With some heart attacks, you won’t notice any symptoms (a "silent" myocardial infarction). This is more common in people who have
Angina isn’t a condition or disease. It’s a symptom, and sometimes it can signal a heart attack. The sensations may occur with normal activities or exertion but then go away with rest or when you take
You may feel:
- Pressure, squeezing, or a sense of fullness in the center of the chest
- Pain or discomfort in the shoulder, arm, back, neck, or jaw
If you instead have “stable” angina, which is the most common kind, your symptoms usually happen with predictable triggers (such as a strong emotion, extreme hot and cold temperatures, or even a heavy meal). The symptoms go away if you rest or take nitroglycerin that your doctor has prescribed. If not, call 911.
CONTINUE READING BELOW
Heart Attack Causes
Your muscle needs a constant supply of oxygen-rich blood. Your coronary arteries give your heart this critical blood supply. If you have , those become narrow, and blood can’t flow as well as it should. When your blood supply is blocked, you have a heart attack.calcium, proteins, and inflammatory cells build up in your arteries to form plaques. These plaque deposits are hard on the outside and soft and mushy on the inside.
When the plaque is hard, the outer shell cracks. This is called a rupture. Platelets (disc-shaped things in your blood that help it clot) come to the area, and form around the plaque. If a blocks your artery, your heart muscle becomes starved for oxygen. The muscle cells soon die, causing permanent damage.
Rarely, a spasm in your coronary artery can also cause a heart attack. During this coronary spasm, your arteries restrict or spasm on and off, cutting off the blood supply to your heart muscle It can happen while you’re at rest and even if you don’t have serious coronary artery disease.
CONTINUE READING BELOW
Each coronary artery sends blood to a different part of your heart muscle. How much the muscle is damaged depends on the size of the area that the blocked artery supplies and the amount of time between the attack and treatment.
Your heart muscle starts to heal soon after a heart attack. This takes about 8 weeks. Just like a wound, a scar forms in the damaged area. But the new scar tissue doesn’t move the way it should. So your heart can’t pump as much after a heart attack. How much that ability to pump is affected depends on the size and location of the scar
