Myocardial infarction
From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
An acute myocardial infarction, also known as a heart attack, is a heart condition where blood cannot get to part of the heart. This can cause the heart to fail, so it is considered a medical emergency.
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[edit] Symptoms
Signs that a person is having a heart attack become visible over several minutes, and rarely come straight away. Most people having a heart attack experience chest pain. Chest pain can be caused by ischaemia (a lack of blood and oxygen) of the heart muscle; this is called angina pectoris. Pain can often also be felt in the left arm, and sometimes in the lower jaw, the neck, the right arm, the back, and in parts of the abdomen.
A lot of women have different symptoms than men. The most common symptoms include shortness of breath, weakness, and feeling tired. Some women feel tired, don't sleep properly, and experience shortness of breath for up to a month before they have a heart attack.
[edit] Treatment
A heart attack is a medical emergency that needs to be taken care of as quickly as possible. The ultimate goal of the management in the acute phase of the disease is to save as much myocardium as possible and prevent more complications. As time passes, the risk of damage to the heart muscle increases.
The treatments itself may have complications. If medics try to get the blood flowing again after only a few hours, the result is reperfusion injury instead of amelioration.[1] Other treatment modalities may also cause complications; the use of antithrombotics for example carries an increased risk of bleeding.
[edit] First aid
When a person starts experiencing symptoms of a myocardial infarction, a lot of people wait on average 3 hours before asking for help[2] when they should seek emergency assistance as soon as they can. Sitting the person in certain positions can help minimise breathing difficulties. A half-sitting position with knees bent is often recommended. The person should also be given access to more oxygen. Aspirin, which reduces the amount of platelets in the blood, can help prevent more blood clots from forming inside the arteries and the heart.
[edit] References
- ↑ Faxon DP. "Coronary interventions and their impact on post myocardial infarction survival." Clin Cardiol 2005; 28(11 Suppl 1):I38-44. PMID 16450811
- ↑ Heart attack first aid. MedlinePlus. Retrieved December 3, 2006.
