heart attack

A heart attack, also known as a myocardial infarction (MI), is a serious and deadly problem of the heart. It occurs when a clot of blood or plaque builds in the arteries or veins of the heart, decreasing or stopping blood flow to a part of the heart muscle. The heart will fail to beat sufficiently due to less workpower and more stress, and may then degrade into an abnormal heart rhythm or cardiac arrest, the latter of which having only an eight to ten percent survival rate.(1) They may occur as a result of disease or with no apparent cause. Chewed aspirin is used in the immediate treatment of heart attacks for better outcomes. Later, heparin (blood thinner) may be given, with nitroglycerin (blood vessel widener) or an opioid ("pain killer"). Long-term measures, such as blood thinners, stents, beta blockers, statins, nitroglycerin, and angiotensin II receptor blockers as well as angiotensin-converting-enzyme inhibitors (both of these widen blood vessels and decrease blood pressure), and aspirin regimens can be used and prescribed for comfort and preventative means. Noticeable symptoms for men often include severe pain in the chest, arms, and neck, shortness of breath, lightheadedness, dizziness, feelings of impending doom, and fainting. For women, they more often include nausea, indigestion, and clamminess, but may also include the other symptoms. Source 1 (include periods): cpr heart org/AHAECC/CPRAndECC/AboutCPRFirstAid/CPRFactsAndStats/UCM_475748_CPR-Facts-and-Stats.jsp