Myocardial infarction (MI) or acute myocardial infarction (AMI), commonly known as a heart attack, is the interruption of blood supply to part of the heart, causing some heart cells to die. This is most commonly due to occlusion (blockage) of a coronary artery following the rupture of a vulnerable atherosclerotic plaque, which is an unstable collection of lipids (fatty acids) and white blood cells (especially macrophages) in the wall of an artery. The resulting ischemia (restriction in blood supply) and oxygen shortage, if left untreated for a sufficient period of time, can cause damage or death (infarction) of heart muscle tissue (myocardium).
Classical symptoms of acute myocardial infarction include sudden chest pain (typically radiating to the left arm or left side of the neck), shortness of breath, nausea, vomiting, palpitations, sweating, and anxiety (often described as a sense of impending doom). Women may experience fewer typical symptoms than men, most commonly shortness of breath, weakness, a feeling of indigestion, and fatigue. Approximately one quarter of all myocardial infarctions are silent, without chest pain or other symptoms.
A heart attack is a medical emergency, and people experiencing chest pain are advised to alert their emergency medical services because prompt protection with an external defibrillator can save one’s life from primary ventricular fibrillation which occurs unexpectedly in 10% of all myocardial infarctions especially during the first hours of symptoms. Contemporary treatment of many myocardial infarctions can result in survival and even good outcomes. While it is true that certain less amenable cases are very massive and rapidly fatal “widowmakers”, it is also true that in small attacks with limited damage and optimal treatment the heart muscle can be salvaged.
Recent Findings:
Calgary is the best place in Canada to suffer a heart attack, a study carried out by scientists at the University of Calgary faculty of medicine suggests. The reason: Calgarians have quick and easy access to life-saving angioplasty treatment 24 hours a day at Foothills Medical Centre. One key factor for surviving a heart attack is getting to a hospital that is equipped to open a blocked blood vessel to the heart within one hour, said the study published in the online journal Open Medicine
