Myocardial infarction
interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A myocardial infarction, also and commonly called a heart attack, happens when a blood vessel in the heart suddenly becomes blocked. Blood vessels carry blood and oxygen. When a blood vessel in the heart gets blocked, blood cannot get to part of the heart. This part of the heart does not get enough oxygen. This is called ischemia. When the heart muscle becomes ischemic (does not get enough blood and oxygen), the ischemia often causes chest pain. This is called Angina Pectoris. If the ischemia lasts long enough, the heart muscle that is not getting enough oxygen dies. This is called an infarction. "Myocardial infarction" means "infarction (muscle death) in the heart muscle."
Myocardial infarction | |
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Classification and external resources | |
ICD-10 | I21.-I22. |
ICD-9 | 410 |
DiseasesDB | 8664 |
MedlinePlus | 000195 |
eMedicine | med/1567 emerg/327 ped/2520 |
MeSH | D009203 |
A heart attack is a medical emergency. The first few minutes are very important for keeping the person alive. Some of the damage from the heart attack can be repaired if the person gets treatment during the first hour of the attack.