A heart attack is when low blood flow causes the heart to starve for oxygen. Heart muscle dies or becomes permanently damaged. Your doctor calls this a myocardial infarction.
Alternative Names
Myocardial infarction; MI; Acute MI
Causes, incidence, and risk factors
Most heart attacks are caused by a blood clot that blocks one of the coronary arteries. The coronary arteries bring blood and oxygen to the heart. If the blood flow is blocked, the heart starves for oxygen and heart cells die.
A clot most often forms in a coronary artery that has become narrow because of the build-up of a substance called plaque along the artery walls. (See: atherosclerosis) Sometimes, the plaque cracks and triggers a blood clot to form.
Occasionally, sudden overwhelming stress can trigger a heart attack.
It is difficult to estimate exactly how common heart attacks are because as many as 200,000 to 300,000 people in the United States die each year before medical help is sought. It is estimated that approximately 1 million patients visit the hospital each year with a heart attack. About 1 out of every 5 deaths are due to a heart attack.
Risk factors for heart attack and coronary artery disease include:
Unhealthy cholesterol levels, especially high LDL ("bad") cholesterol and low HDL ("good") cholesterol
Higher-than-normal levels of homocysteine, C-reactive protein, and fibrinogen may also increase your risk for a heart attack. Homocysteine is an amino acid. C-reactive protein and fibrinogen are linked to inflammation.
Coronary heart disease (6 images)(Doctor-Reviewed information)
Coronary heart disease (CHD) is a narrowing of the small blood vessels that supply blood and oxygen to the heart. CHD is also called coronary artery disease. Reviewer: Glenn Gandelman, MD, MPH, Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine, New York Medical College, Valhalla, NY, and Larry A. Weinrauch, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, and Private practice specializing in Cardiovascular Disease, Watertown, MA. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.Date: 03/30/2007
Ischemic cardiomyopathy(Doctor-Reviewed information)
Ischemic cardiomyopathy is a term that doctors use to describe patients who have congestive heart failure due to coronary artery disease. "Ischemic" means that an organ (such as the heart) is not getting enough blood and oxygen. "Cardio" means heart and "myopathy" means muscle-related disease. Reviewer: Glenn Gandelman, MD, MPH, Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine, New York Medical College, Valhalla, NY. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.Date: 07/17/2006
Pericarditis (2 images)(Doctor-Reviewed information)
Pericarditis is a disorder caused by inflammation of the pericardium, which is the sac-like covering around the heart. Reviewer: Glenn Gandelman, MD, MPH, Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine, New York Medical College, Valhalla, NY. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.Date: 11/06/2006
Heart disease (3 images)(Doctor-Reviewed information)
Heart disease is any disorder that affects the heart's ability to function normally. Various forms of heart disease include: Alcoholic cardiomyopathy; Aortic regurgitation; Aortic stenosis; Arrhythmias; Cardiogenic shock; Congenital heart disease; Coronary artery disease (CAD)Dilated cardiomyopathy; Endocarditis; Heart attack (myocardial infarction; Heart failure; Heart tumor; Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy; Idiopathic cardiomyopathy; Ischemic cardiomyopathy; Acute mitral regurgitation; Chronic mitral regurgitation; Mitral stenosis; Mitral valve prolapse; Peripartum cardiomyopathy; Pulmonary stenosis; Stable angina; Unstable angina; Tricuspid regurgitation. Reviewer: Glenn Gandelman, MD, MPH, Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine, New York Medical College, Valhalla, NY. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.Date: 11/06/2006
Atherosclerosis (8 images)
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(Doctor-Reviewed information)
Atherosclerosis is a condition in which fatty material collects along the walls of arteries. This fatty material thickens, hardens, and may eventually block the arteries. Atherosclerosis is a type of arteriosclerosis. The two terms are often used to mean the same thing. Reviewer: Larry A. Weinrauch, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, and Private practice specializing in Cardiovascular Disease, Watertown, MA, and Glenn Gandelman, MD, MPH, Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine, New York Medical College, Valhalla, NY. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.Date: 03/30/2007
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