Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
Definition: Heart Attack |
Heart AttackNoun1. A sudden severe instance of abnormal heart function. Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
| Domain | Definition |
Medicine | A seizure of weak or abnormal functioning of the heart. Source: European Union. (references) |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
Note: Wikipedia does not provide medical advice. If you have a medical problem, you should seek expert help.
A heart attack is a colloquial term referring to a serious, sudden heart condition that presents as varying degrees of chest pain, weakness, sweating, nausea and vomiting, sometimes causing loss of consciousness. A heart attack is a medical emergency.
The medical term for a heart attack is acute myocardial infarction, often abbreviated as AMI or MI. "Acute" means sudden, "myo" refers to muscle, and "cardium" refers to the heart, i.e. to the heart muscle (myocardium). "Infarction" is a medical term describing tissue death (necrosis) caused by an obstruction of blood flow.
The underlying mechanism of a heart attack is the destruction of heart muscle cells due to a lack of oxygen. If these cells are not supplied with sufficient oxygen by the coronary arteries to meet their metabolic demands, they die.
A common cause of heart attack is atherosclerosis: a gradual buildup of fat-containing substances (plaque) in the walls of the arteries can erupt and cause a blood clot (thrombus) to form; this thrombus can then cause a sudden clogging of the coronary arteries. This is one reason why older people are more susceptible to heart attacks.
Heart attacks can also occur if the work load of the heart suddenly rises and the necessary oxygen cannot be supplied quickly enough. This is why extreme stress or physical exertion can result in heart attacks.
The classical symptom of a heart attack is chest pain. However it is present only in 65-69% of cases. Pain most characteristic of a heart attack is described as "intense pressure" ("like an elephant sitting on your chest") but can also be a sharp or stabbing pain. The pain may radiate to the left arm, neck or the back and can be slight, moderate, or severe.
Some associated symptoms include dizziness, nausea, shortness of breath and diaphoresis (excessive sweating). In the absence of these symptoms, sharp chest pain which goes away promptly when the patient stops moving chest and arm muscles often is not associated with a heart attack; but a sharp chest pain that persists despite lack of movement is a strong indicator of a heart attack.
Heart attacks sometimes occur with atypical pain or in the absence of classical symptoms, particularly in women, who may experience simply chest discomfort, a sensation of uncomfortable chest pressure, cold sweats, nausea, or pain in the arm, back, jaw, or stomach (so called anginal equivalents). Women are just as likely to die of a heart attack as men.
If you are having a heart attack, call for help immediately. Many people have died needlessly because they were afraid or unwilling to admit that they were having a heart attack until too late. If possible, take an aspirin because it makes blood clots less likely to form. Find other people who can get help and administer CPR should your heart stop beating.
A heart attack is a life-threatening medical emergency which demands immediate activation of the emergency medical services. Immediate transport by ambulance to a hospital where advanced cardiac life support is available needs to be arranged. Calm the patient as much as possible.
If the patient is conscious and able to swallow, it may be advisable to give one baby aspirin. Look to see if the patient has nitroglycerin tablets or patches available, particularly if they have been the victim of prior heart attacks. As a first-aider, you may assist a conscious patient in taking these self-rescue medications.
In wilderness first aid, a possible heart attack justifies medical evacuation by the fastest available means, including MEDEVAC, even in the earliest or precursor stages. The patient will rapidly be incapable of further exertion and have to be carried out. Note the correlation between age, exertion and the onset of chest pain.
Transport immediately if breathing and pulse are present. ("Load and go.") Place on oxygen therapy by mask and calm the patient. Monitor closely (with electrocardiogram if available).
Be prepared to apply advanced cardiac life support including defibrillation and (at the paramedic level) injection of medications into the heart per protocol. If equipment is not available, perform CPR if the heart stops beating.
About 20% of patients die before they reach the hospital; the cause of death is often fibrillation.
A heart attack is treated with thrombolytic drugs (such as urokinase, streptokinase, or alteplase (recombinant tissue plasminogen activator)), heparin, and medication to prevent arrhythmia. Immediate or delayed treatment with angioplasty or coronary artery bypass surgery is another option. Following a heart attack, a patient's heart rhythm is closely monitored: antiarrhythmic medication may be needed. Some people at risk for coronary disease are prescribed medication to prevent heart attacks (such as aspirin or Plavix (clodipogrel)).
Doctors traveling by commercial aircraft: oxygen is available on board and the first aid kit on jetliners contains basic cardiac drugs used in advanced cardiac life support. If treating a potential heart attack while in the air, ask the stewardess to get this kit for you. The pilot will divert the flight to the nearest airport.Definition
Causes
Diagnosis
First Aid
Field Care (for EMTs)
Clinical Treatment
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Heart attack."
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
Disease | Ague, angina pectoris, appendicitis; Asiatic cholera, spasmodic cholera; biliary calculus, kidney stone, black death, bubonic plague, pneumonic plague; blennorrhagia, blennorrhoea; blood poisoning, bloodstroke, bloody flux, brash; breakbone fever, dengue fever, malarial fever, Q-fever; heart attack, cardiac arrest, cardiomyopathy; hardening of the arteries, arteriosclerosis, atherosclerosis; bronchocele, canker rash, cardialgia, carditis, endocarditis; cholera, asphyxia; chlorosis, chorea, cynanche, dartre; enanthem, enanthema; erysipelas; exanthem, exanthema; gallstone, goiter, gonorrhea, green sickness; grip, grippe, influenza, flu; hay fever, heartburn, heaves, rupture, hernia, hemorrhoids, piles, herpes, itch, king's evil, lockjaw; measles, mumps, polio; necrosis, pertussis, phthisis, pneumonia, psora, pyaemia, pyrosis, quinsy, rachitis, ringworm, rubeola, St. Vitus's dance, scabies, scarlatina, scarlet fever, scrofula, seasickness, struma, syntexis, tetanus, tetter, tonsillitis, tonsilitis, tracheocele, trachoma, trismus, varicella, varicosis, variola, water qualm, whooping cough; yellow fever, yellow jack. |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
Crosswords: Heart Attack |
| English words defined with "heart attack": encainide, Enkaid ♦ flecainide ♦ Tambocor. (references) |
| Specialty definitions using "heart attack": Technetium Tc 99m Sestamibi. (references) |
| Domain | Usage | |
Screenplays | Careful Bill, you'll give yourself a heart attack and ruin my vacation. (Meet Joe Black; writing credit: Martin Brest, screenplay adaptation by Walter Ferris. Based on the play 'Death Takes a Holiday' by Alberto Casella.) I think I'm going to have a heart attack and die, from that surprise. (Aladdin; writing credit: Roger Allers; Ron Clements) Teeny weeny flight of steps, Sir Wilfrid, we mustn't forget we've had a teeny weeny heart attack. (Witness for the Prosecution; writing credit: Agatha Christie; Larry Marcus) it's either a leg thing or a spiritual thing, or a psychological thing, or a heart attack. (Major League II; writing credit: David S. Ward; R.J. Stewart) Oh God, if you're gonna tell me he's gay I'm gonna have a freakin' heart attack. (Will & Grace; writing credit: Evan Weinstein) | |
Lyrics | A heart attack (Heart Attack; performing artist: Olivia Newton-John) You're givin' me a heart attack (Heart Attack; performing artist: Olivia Newton-John) Gonna save this heart attack (Bad Medicine; performing artist: Bon Jovi) Tuesday wednesday heart attack (Friday I'm in Love; performing artist: The Cure) | |
Song Titles | Heart Attack (performing artist: Olivia Newton-John) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
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Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Thumbnail | Description & Credit | Thumbnail | Description & Credit |
 | Many lives are being saved by this ambulance specially equipped to deal with severe heart attack cases ... / WHO/Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast photo. Credit: National Library of Medicine. |  | The heart attack that saved a life!. Credit: National Library of Medicine. |
 | Marks, Miss.: Martin Luther King preaches funeral sermon for freedom marcher, Armstead Phipps, Marks, Miss., who died of a heart attack while marching with the Mississippi freedom marchers. Credit: Library of Congress. | ||
Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits. | |||
| Play | Caption |
 | Alarm; death; dead; deceased; heart attack; heart; monitor; flatline. |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Subject | Topic | Quote |
Health | An episode of angina is not a heart attack. (references) | |
Beta-blockers are given to decrease the recurrence of heart attack. (references) | ||
It may also raise the risk of a heart attack during general anesthesia. (references) | ||
Civil Liberties | Congo | The Archbishop died of a heart attack the following month while in Rome. (references) |
Russia | She was taken to a temporary holding cell in the district police station where she apparently suffered a heart attack. (references) | |
Turkmenistan | In February human rights organizations and the international press reported that Shagged Atakov, a prominent member of the Baptist faith, had suffered a heart attack in prison and was gravely ill. (references) | |
Human Rights | Algeria | One of the mistreated persons died of a heart attack the next day. (references) |
Kazakhstan | An investigation by the Presidential Commission on Human Rights concluded that one death was a suicide by hanging, and one was a heart attack. (references) | |
Laos | According to credible reports, at least one inmate in a Vientiane prison died of an apparent heart attack when medical care was intentionally withheld for several hours. (references) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits. | ||
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Language | Translations for "heart attack"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Albanian | krizë zemre. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Arabic | نوبة قلبية (heart failure). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bulgarian | сърдечна недостатъчност (heart failure). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Czech | srdeèní záchvat, srdeèní infarkt, mrtvice (apoplexy, palsy, paralysis, stroke), infarkt (corollary, corollary thrombosis, infarct). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Danish | hjerteanfald, myokardieinfarkt (cardiac infarction, infarction of the myocardium, myocardial infarct, myocardial infarction). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Dutch | hartinfarct (cardiac infarction, infarction of the myocardium, myocardial infarct, myocardial infarction), hartaanval, myocard infarct (cardiac infarction, infarction of the myocardium, myocardial infarct, myocardial infarction). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Finnish | sydäninfarkti (cardiac infarction, infarction of the myocardium, myocardial infarct, myocardial infarction), sepelvaltimon tukos (cardiac infarction, infarction of the myocardium, myocardial infarct, myocardial infarction). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
French | crise cardiaque. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
German | herzanfall. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Greek | καρδιακή προσβολή. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hebrew | שבץ "לב (apoplexy), "תקף לב (heart failure, seizure). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hungarian | szívroham. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Indonesian | anfal. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Italian | infarto miocardico (cardiac infarction, infarction of the myocardium, myocardial infarct, myocardial infarction), infarto del miocardio (cardiac infarction, infarction of the myocardium, myocardial infarct, myocardial infarction), infarto (coronary, infarct), cardiaco (cardiac, of the heart), attacco cardiaco. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Japanese Kanji | 狭心症 (angina pectoris), 心"麻痺 , 心筋梗塞 (myocardial infarction). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Japanese Katakana | きょうし"しょう (angina pectoris), し"ぞうまひ, し"き""うそく (myocardial infarction). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Manx | teaym chree. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Pig Latin | earthay attackay infarto (infarct), crise cardíaca, ataque de corao (infarct), ataque cardaco, ataque cardíaco. (various references) atac de cord. (various references) инфаркт (infarct). (various references) srčani napad, srčana kap. (various references) infarto de miocardio (cardiac infarction, infarction of the myocardium, myocardial infarct, myocardial infarction), infarto (coronary thrombosis, infarct, infarction), IM (cardiac infarction, infarction of the myocardium, myocardial infarct, myocardial infarction), crisis cardíaca, ataque del corazón, ataque al corazón. (various references) hjärtinfarkt (infarct, myocardial infarction), hjärtattack. (various references) kâlp krizi. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Misspellings | |
"Heart Attack" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: Heartattack. (additional references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
| Words within the letters "a-a-a-c-e-h-k-r-t-t-t" | |
-3 letters: attacher, attacker, reattach, reattack, tractate. | |
-4 letters: archaea, attache, attract, chatter, hatrack, ratatat, ratchet, teacart, trachea. | |
-5 letters: attach, attack, carate, chaeta, chakra, charka, hacker, hatter, karate, rachet, racket, retack, tacker, tacket, takahe, tatter, threat. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
| 1. Definition 2. Synonyms 3. Crosswords 4. Usage: Modern | 5. Usage: Commercial 6. Images: Photo Album 7. Sounds 8. Quotations: Non-fiction | 9. Expressions: Internet 10. Translations: Modern 11. Derivations 12. Anagrams | 13. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
