Myocardial Infarction and Heart Attack Treatment

A heart attack (also known as a myocardial infarction) is the death of heart muscle from the sudden blockage of a coronary artery by a blood clot.. The term myocardial infarction is derived from myocardium (the heart muscle) and infarction (tissue death due to oxygen starvation). The phrase "heart attack" is sometimes used incorrectly to describe sudden cardiac death, which may or may not be the result of acute myocardial infarction. A heart attack is different from, but can be the cause of cardiac arrest, which is the stopping of the heartbeat, and cardiac arrhythmia, an abnormal heartbeat.The blood supply to the heart is provided by blood vessels called the coronary arteries. Myocardial infarction more commonly known as a heart attack. It is a medical condition. It can lead to a chronic disabling condition because it can cause heart failure. A heart attack is the death of heart muscle from the sudden blockage of a coronary artery by a blood clot. A heart attack is usually caused by a complete blockage of a coronary artery by a blood clot forming. The most common cause of MI is narrowing of the epicardial blood vessels due to atheromatous plaques.

Various other uncommon conditions can block a coronary artery and cause an MI. For example: inflammation of the coronary arteries (rare); a stab wound to the heart; a blood clot forming elsewhere in the body (for example, in a heart chamber) and travelling to a coronary artery where it gets stuck; cocaine abuse which can cause a coronary artery to go into spasm; complications from heart surgery; and some other rare heart problems. There are not dealt with further.

With then plaque rupture exposure of the basement membrane results in platelet aggregation, thrombus formation, accumulation of fibrin, bleeding in the plate, and various degrees of spasms. Nonatherosclerotic causes of MI include coronary vasospasm as seen in variant (Prinzmetal) angina. Myocardial Infarction is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the United States. Approximately 1.3 million cases of nonfatal MI are reported each year. Approximately 500,000-700,000 deaths are caused by ischemic heart disease annually in the United States. MI most frequently occurs in persons older than 45 years.

Chest pain is one of the main symptoms of heart attack. The pain may be felt in a body part. The pain can be similar to angina, but it is generally more severe and lasts longer. The pain usually lasts more than 20 minutes. A heart attack is a medical emergency. Treatment of heart attacks include anti–platelet medications to prevent formation of blood clots in the arteries , anti–coagulant medications to prevent growth of blood clots in the arteries, clot–dissolving medications to open blocked arteries. To prevent a heart attack keep your blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol under control.

# intravenous therapy - nitroglycerin, morphine
# continuous monitoring of the heart and vital signs
# oxygen therapy - to improve oxygenation to the damaged heart muscle
# pain medication - by decreasing pain, the workload of the heart decreases, thus, the oxygen demand of the heart decreases
# cardiac medication - such as beta-blockers or calcium channel blockers to promote blood flow to the heart, improve the blood supply, prevent arrhythmias, and decrease heart rate and blood pressure

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