Articles on Medical Diseases and Conditions

Entries for the ‘Heart Attack’ Category

Medications for Angina or Heart Attack

If you experience angina, medications are certain to be a part of your treatment. Because angina is an indication that your heart needs more oxygen (usually because of a blocked coronary artery), treatment includes drugs that either reduce your heart’s oxygen requirements or increase blood ?ow to your heart so that it gets more oxygen. […]

Outcomes of a Heart Attack

Lack of blood ?ow to the heart (myocardial ischemia) usually causes symptoms such as angina, a sensation of pressure in the chest; shortness of breath; or light-headedness. Ischemia may lead to a heart attack (myocardial infarction), as some part of the heart is deprived of blood for a period long enough for the heart muscle […]

Recognizing Symptoms of a Heart Attack

Clearly, knowing the signs of a heart attack and responding quickly are important. If people live long enough to reach the hospital, their chances of dying are dramatically reduced. Treatment to open clogged arteries is most effective within the ?rst 60 to 90 min- utes after symptoms (such as chest pain) occur. If the blood […]

The Role of Inflammation

Scientists now know that in?ammation is a major component of the process of atherosclerosis. Just as in?ammation of bones and joints can, over time, lead to arthritis, an in?ammatory process inside blood vessels can lead to coronary artery disease or stroke. Research has not yet pinpointed what causes the low-grade in?am- matory process that may […]

Atherosclerosis

Most coronary artery disease leading to heart attack results from the process of atherosclerosis, the stiffening and narrowing of arteries. Early changes are seen in people as young as their twenties. A healthy artery is highly elastic, responding readily to changes in the amount or pressure of the blood ?owing through it. As you age, […]

Heart Attack

A heart attack occurs when a blockage in the coronary arteries those that supply the heart itself—shuts off the ?ow of oxygen- rich blood to heart muscle tissue. Without oxygen and nutrients, the heart muscle will begin to die. Prompt medical attention can restore blood ?ow and limit the extent of damage, but dead tissue […]