Heart attack or a medical language is called myocardial infarction / acute myocardial infarction, occurs when blood flow to the heart muscle becomes blocked. If blood flow is cut off more than a few minutes, the cells of the heart muscle (myocardium) will begin to damage / death (infarction) from lack of oxygen.
The most common cause of heart attack is a blockage (occlusion) coronary artery after rupture of atherosclerotic plaque, which is a pile of lipids (fatty acids) and white blood cells in the walls of the coronary arteries that supply blood to the heart. Plaques that rupture creates clots of blood clots. If the clot is large enough then it can cover part or all of the arteries, causing heart attacks.
Symptom
Typical symptoms of acute heart attacks are sudden chest pain (typically radiating to left arm or left side of the neck), shortness of breath (chest feels like “an elephant stepped on”), nausea, vomiting, palpitations, sweating, and anxiety. Heart attacks in women have more symptoms and are not always typical. About a quarter of cases of myocardial infarction occur “silently”, without chest pain or other symptoms.
Silent heart attack is especially true in the elderly, in patients with diabetes mellitus and after heart transplantation. In people with diabetes, increases pain threshold, autonomic neuropathy, and psychological factors may cause the symptoms are not felt.
The level of damage to the heart depends on how long the heart muscle deprived of oxygen. If blood flow is not restored within 20 to 40 minutes, the heart muscle will begin to experience permanent damage, leading to scarring. Over time, this can lead to complications such as heart failure and life-threatening arrhythmias.
Heart attacks are the leading cause of death worldwide. If you feel heart attack symptoms, you should immediately get medical attention in hospital. Better to go to the hospital and was told that you do not have a heart attack than you to remain at home until late.