What is a Heart Attack or Myocardial Infarction?

What is a Heart Attack or Myocardial Infarction? Heart attack occurs when there’s death or necrosis of a segment of heart muscle due to the loss of blood supply. The blood supply is usually lost due to blocked coronary artery, one that provides blood to the heart muscle by blood clots. This condition is also known as coronary thrombosis. When it happens, one will experience distressing symptoms such as chest pain and electrical instability of the myocardial tissues. Heart disease is a very general term used to describe all the different disorders and diseases that can affect your heart and its operation.

One of the most common causes is oxygen starvation; this is usually the result of a blockage in the arteries that carry the flow of oxygen-rich blood from the lungs to the heart. This condition can lead to heart damage and if left untreated, the damaged heart will undergo necrosis. In other words, the heart cells will start to die. Often times, this condition is caused by a buildup of a waxy substance known as plaque. As plaque builds up inside your arteries, it can result in the coronary (or heart) arteries being partially or totally blocked. This condition is known as atherosclerosis.

This will restrict blood flow to your organs and tissues. If this condition is not treated quickly, the areas of the heart that rely on this artery will die. The once healthy heart tissues will also undergo fibrosis, forming scars that impede the usual functions of the heart. Sometimes, such condition will go off radar and difficult to be discovered. So if you leave it as it is for a long time, many heart health problems will arise in the long-term.

Symptoms of a Heart Attack or MI

With so many people suffering from heart attacks, many people are looking for ways in order to prevent these heart attacks. But before that, we should learn the early warning signs and symptoms of a heart attack or MI.
The symptoms of a heart attack can vary widely. For instance, you may have only minor chest pain while some else has excruciating pain.

Some typical heart attack symptoms for men and women are:

• Feeling of heaviness, pain, pressure, and even discomfort inside of the chest, below the breastbone, or in the arm.

• Discomfort that radiates to the back, arm, throat, or jaw.

• Feeling indigestion, fullness, and even a choking feeling. It may feel like heartburn sometimes.

• Dizziness, vomiting, nausea, and sweating.

• Extreme shortness of breath, anxiety, or weakness.

• Collapse or lose consciousness.

How to Diagnose a Heart Attack or MI?

There are thousands of people every year who fall prey to heart attacks without even realizing that they have it in the first place. They act as if nothing has happened because most who had early stages of heart attacks are asymptomatic until the crisis happens.Think of it as a walking time bomb. To identify any diseases, we look at the symptoms a person is suffering from. Such symptoms for heart attack differs from one person to another.

They can be mild or grave. Also, the severity and susceptibility of contracting the disease depend on the age, sex, presence of risk factors or underlying diseases. For instance, those who have diabetes usually demonstrate subtle or unusual symptoms.
In any case, if you find yourself suffering from any heart attack symptoms, you must get emergency treatment immediately. The speed of treatment is of utmost importance when dealing with episodes of heart attacks. In fact, the faster the emergency treatment, the higher the chance of survival.

When you’re having an attack, bear in mind to seek help from others. Do not attempt to drive or walk yourself to the hospital when you’re in excruciating pain as you’ll only exacerbate the symptoms and inviting further complications. Get someone to call for an ambulance and seek prompt medical attention. Every second counts and by seeking early medical care, you can prevent further injuries to your heart tissues and even stay alive!