HEART ATTACKS

Heart Attacks

Heart Attacks

Introduction

A heart attack, known in medical terms as an acute myocardial infarction, refers to the death of heart tissue following the rupture of atherosclerotic plaque in the wall of a coronary artery that causes a blood clot to block the flow of blood and supply of oxygen through the artery downstream to that area. Heart failure occurs when the heart fails to pump blood adequately, causing blood to back up in the veins that return blood to the heart (Martini, & Bartholomew, 2007). As a result, tissues throughout the body are deprived of oxygen which is normally transported by the blood. Backed-up blood causes fluid to collect in various parts of the body such as the lungs, lower legs, ankles, and liver. Heart failure can result from a variety of underlying problems, including mechanical problems of the heart valves, previous heart attacks, heart rhythm disturbances, damaged heart muscle, or long-standing high blood pressure.

Heart disease, also called cardiovascular disease, includes a myriad of disorders involving the heart and its blood vessels (Boerwinkle et al, 2009). Many of these falls into the category of coronary heart disease, a term that itself encompasses a variety of conditions. Most coronary heart disease is due to a process known as atherosclerosis, in which fat and cholesterol are deposited in the inner walls of arteries throughout the body (Everson-Rose and Lewis, 2007). Over the years, scar tissue and other debris build up as more fat and cholesterol are deposited. If one or more of the arteries that supply the heart muscle with blood are seriously narrowed, a condition called coronary artery disease (CAD), and especially if a blood clot forms at a site of the narrowing, the heart cannot get enough oxygen from the bloodstream. The result is chest pain (angina pectoris)—and possibly a heart attack.

In women it is less likely to be associated with coronary artery disease than in men. Instead, it tends to involve problems in different parts of the pumping mechanism. This disorder occurs when the heart fails to pump blood out efficiently, and as a result blood that would normally enter the heart backs up in the veins (Blumenthal & Margolis, 2007). This inefficient pumping of blood causes tissues throughout the body to be deprived of oxygen, and the backed-up blood in the veins causes fluid to collect in the lungs, lower legs, ankles, and liver. Heart failure can result from a variety of underlying problems, including mechanical problems of the heart valves, damaged heart muscle from previous heart attacks, or long-standing high blood pressure. In women it is less likely to be associated with coronary artery disease than in men.

There are two phases to the pumping action of the heart: the “squeeze” (systole), when the heart muscle contracts, pumping blood through the arteries; and the “relaxation” (diastole), when the muscle relaxes and the heart fills with blood, ready to begin a new pumping cycle. The type of congestive heart failure caused by coronary artery disease (“systolic ...