What is a Heart Attack ?
Dateline: 04/20/99
It was a just a short walk to the station. But mid-way, the pain seemed to worsen. John stopped short in his tracks, sweaty and pale, feeling cold all over. The pain was now severe, a live thing, like nothing he had ever experienced in his life before. His chest seemed to be gripped in a huge vise, crushing him. A heavy weight descended upon his chest. Unable to bear the pain any longer, he collapsed to the ground.
JOHN WAS HAVING A HEART ATTACK !
This week's article deals with a basic explanation about a heart attack.
What is a Heart Attack ?
Almost every one of us has heard the term "Heart Attack". It has happened to a friend, a relative, a neighbour .... or maybe even to yourself.
So what IS a heart attack ?
A heart attack - or Myocardial Infarction, as doctors call it - means the death of a portion of the heart, caused by a sudden loss of blood supply to the heart.
To make this statement clearer, I need to tell you a little more about how the human body functions. We all know that blood goes around and around the body inside special tubes called arteries and veins. This blood carries a gas called oxygen, and many nutrients that are absorbed from the food we eat. Oxygen and nutrients, that are carried dissolved in the blood, are necessary for other organs of the body to function normally. Your eyes can see, your ears hear, your legs walk, your hands work, your brain think - because they get oxygen and nutrients from the blood.
The heart acts as a muscular pump to keep the blood moving around the body inside the tubes (arteries and veins). The heart is indeed the "Pump of Life". To carry out it's function of pumping blood, the heart itself requires energy. This energy is obtained from oxygen and nutrients carried in blood, that reaches the heart through special arteries called CORONARY ARTERIES. When these coronary arteries become blocked (for any reason), the heart loses it's energy supply. It can no longer pump blood normally. If the heart's blood supply is not quickly restored, a portion of the heart muscle dies. This is what causes a heart attack.
The term "Heart Attack" is a broad one covering death of any part of the heart muscle due to inadequate blood supply. Usually, it is the large lower chambers of the heart - the ventricles - that are affected.
The left ventricle is the chamber most often involved in a heart attack since it has the largest bulk of heart muscle. The "attack" may involve any part of the left ventricle wall - the front (anterior), the side (lateral), the back (posterior), or even the portion that separates it from the right ventricle - the inter-ventricular septum.
In contrast, heart attacks of only the right ventricle are very rare (1% to 3%). However, a heart attack involving the back or septal wall of the left ventricle might extend to the right ventricle in 30% of cases. The upper chambers of the heart (atria) seldom suffer from a heart attack, and even if they do, the consequences are usually not very serious.
Have you read the earlier article on Heart Disease and Smoking ?
Recommended Reading: The Heart Attack Bookstore
In the newly created Heart Attack Bookstore, I have featured some of the best books about Heart Attack. Please take a few moments to browse through the detailed reviews. If you think they might be useful, you can even buy them right there online. Click here to visit the bookstore.
For more resources on heart attack, visit the resource library.
Read another article on Heart Disease.
And don't forget. Post your comments on this article on the Heart Disease Bulletin Board or discuss it in the Chat Room.
Take some time to browse through this site
You can also review articles in the following interest areas dealing with heart disease:
- Minimally Invasive Heart Surgery
- MICAS website
- Fetal Heart Surgery
- Congenital Heart Disease
- Heart Disease in Women
- Post operative care after heart surgery
- Pregnancy and Heart Disease
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