Myocardial Infarction(MI): Treatment, Causes, & Symptoms

What is Myocardial Infarction?

Myocardial infarction is commonly called as ‘heart attack’. Like all muscles of the body, the muscles in the heart require constant supply of oxygen and nutrients for their functioning. Myocardial infarction refers to the necrosis or irreversible death of muscles in the heart, owing to ischemia or prolonged lack of oxygen supply to heart muscles. Oxygenated blood is provided to the heart by two large arteries. In a myocardial infarction, blood flow into the blood vessels of the heart would be cut off suddenly.

This can be attributed to the sudden rupture of blood clots in coronary arteries, which have plaque depositions that are fatty and calcified.

Symptoms

Symptoms of a heart attack include:

Sweating, nausea, vomit and dizziness
Extreme weakness and shortness of breath
Rapid or irregular heartbeats
Discomfort, pressure, heaviness, or pain in the chest, arm, or below the breastbone
Discomfort radiating to the back, jaw, throat, or arm
Fullness, indigestion, or choking feeling, may feel like heartburn

Usually, during a heart attack, symptoms last for thirty minutes or longer. The symptoms are not relieved by taking rest or by having nitroglycerin under the tongue. Some people might also have a silent myocardial infarction or a heart attack without symptoms. This is more common in people with diabetes.

Causes

Exertion, excitement, and stress may act as major causes and act as triggers for a myocardial infarction. Factors, though, are well-known, and some can be controlled. Of these, the main ones are:

Obesity
Diabetes
High blood pressure
High cholesterol

Risks

High risk factors, though, are well-known, and some can be controlled. Of these, the main ones are:

Smoking
Sedentary lifestyle
Family history of heart disease
Postmenopausal women
Men over age of 50

Prevention

If you have had a heart attack, recovering from it would take lifestyle and psychological adjustments which should be adopted for a long time. To keep your heart healthy, you have to:

Quit smoking
Avoid excessive consumption of alcohol
Avoid consumption of oily and fatty food
Be active and exercise moderately, on a regular basis
Have a healthy and balanced diet

How is it diagnosed?

At Medanta, your cardiologist might rely on various tests to diagnose a myocardial infarction. These tests also identify if your heart has blockages and if the tissues are damaged. They are:
...

Electrocardiogram (ECG)

Using an electrocardiogram, the electrical activity of the heart can be monitored. With blood tests, the data can be used to assess the condition of the heart.
Angiogram and radioisotope scan

These are the tools used to find out where the damages and blockages of arteries are.
Echocardiograms

Using ultrasound, this test can evaluate the functionality of the heart. It can tell you to what extent the muscles of the heart are damaged. It is also used to visualize the functionality of the valves.

How is it treated?

Heart attack victims undergo emergency procedures to restore blood flow to the heart and let it get stabilized. After that, they are usually hospitalized in special centers called Coronary Care Units (CCU) for around 36 hours, where the condition ..

Angioplasty
A technique used to widen arteries that are clogged, by removal of plaque deposition in the walls.
Coronary bypass surgery
This method is used to divert the flow of blood around clogged arteries, so that the blood flow happens through alternate channels.