Medical Description

A heart attack, clinically known as a myocardial infarction, occurs when an artery supplying the heart with blood becomes blocked and causes part of the heart muscle to die. When the artery is blocked, the heart does not receive the blood and oxygen it needs to survive. A heart attack can result in a weaker and less stable heart because a portion of the muscle has died.

Heart attacks are the most common cause of cardiovascular death. About 20 to 30 percent of patients who have a heart attack die from it. Most heart attacks occur because a blood clot blocks the artery.

Symptoms

• severe chest pain
• anxiety
• restlessness
• nauseousness or vomiting
• cold sweat
• faint
• shortness of breath
• uncomfortable pressure in the chest
• squeezing in the chest
• fullness
• pain in the center of the chest
• upper body discomfort in arms, back, neck, jaw or stomach
• shortness of breath

General Information

Severe problems linked to heart attacks are heart failure and irregular heartbeats (arrhythmias).

Source: “Heart attack,” National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute.

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