Heart Attack

Heart attack is the death of the heart muscle due to loss of blood supply.

Heart attack, also called myocardial infarction, is the death of the heart muscle due to loss of blood supply caused due to blockage in one or more of the coronary arteries supplying the heart.

The other names for heart attack include acute myocardial infarction, coronary thrombosis, and coronary occlusion.

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States. More than a million persons in the U.S. have heart attack each year and about half of them die. The risk of heart attack in both men and women are almost equal with women accounting for nearly half of all heart attack deaths.

In India, heart disease is the single largest cause of death in the country with heart attacks being responsible for one third of all deaths caused by heart diseases. According to a projection by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), India will not only be the heart attack capital but also the capital of diabetes and hypertension by 2020.

Heart attack is a life-threatening event and everyone should know the warning signs of heart attack. Most people who die of heart attack die within the first hour after the onset of the symptoms.

Hence knowing the symptoms of heart attack and seeking immediate medical attention is essential to prevent death due to heart attacks and also to lessen the amount of damage to the heart.

Measures like cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and thrombolytic drugs (clot buster) when given early during the onset of heart attack can help in saving the life of the patient.