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May 20, 2013
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Heart Attack

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Heart Attack Overview

If you believe that you are having the symptoms of a heart attack, please call 911 immediately and seek medical attention.

The heart is a muscle like any other in the body. Arteries supply it with oxygen-rich blood so that it can contract and push blood to the rest of the body. When there isn't enough oxygen flow to a muscle, its function begins to suffer. Block the oxygen supply completely, and the muscle starts to die.

  • Heart muscle gets its blood supply from arteries that originate in the aorta just as it leaves the heart.
  • The coronary arteries run along the surface of the heart and supply oxygen-rich blood to the heart muscle.
  • The right coronary artery supplies the right ventricle of the heart and the inferior (lower) portion of the left ventricle.
  • The left anterior descending coronary artery supplies the majority of the left ventricle, while the circumflex artery supplies the back of the left ventricle.
  • The ventricles are the lower chambers of the heart; the right ventricle pumps blood to the lungs and left pumps it to the rest of the body.

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Heart attack - Symptoms

The eMedicineHealth physician editors ask:

The symptoms of heart attack can vary greatly from patient to patient. What were your symptoms at the onset of your disease?

Heart Attack - Treatment

The eMedicineHealth physician editors ask:

What treatment did you undergo after your heart attack?

Heart Attack in Women

Know the Symptoms

  1. Chest pain or discomfort
  2. Unusual upper body discomfort
  3. Shortness of breath
  4. Breaking out in a cold sweat
  5. Unusual or unexplained fatigue (tiredness)
  6. Light-headedness or sudden dizziness
  7. Nausea (feeling sick to the stomach)

A woman suffers a heart attack every 90 seconds in the United States. Yet according to a 2009 American Heart Association survey only half of women indicated they would call 9-1-1 if they thought they were having a heart attack and few were aware of the most common heart attack symptoms.

SOURCE:
WomensHealth.gov

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Read What Your Physician is Reading on Medscape

Myocardial Infarction »

Myocardial infarction (MI) is the irreversible necrosis of heart muscle secondary to prolonged ischemia.

Read More on Medscape Reference »


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