BRAINCAKEHeart Attacks
A heart attack, or myocardial infarction, happens when the blood supply to part of the heart muscle is cut off.
Cause. A coronary artery becomes completely blocked, usually by a thrombus that forms where an atheroma has broken through the endothelium, or by an embolus lodging in the artery. The heart muscle beyond the blockage receives no oxygen. It cannot respire aerobically, and if the blood supply is not restored within a short time, the muscle cells die. The area of dead tissue is called an infarct.
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Key terms in this lesson
- cardiac arrest
- The sudden loss of effective heart pumping, often caused by disruption of the heart's normal electrical activity.
More in Cardiovascular Diseases
- Raised Blood Pressure
- Heart Disease
- Angina
- Thrombosis
- Strokes
- Epidemiology
- Risk
- Non-modifiable Risk Factors
All 20 lessons in Cardiovascular Diseases · All Edexcel AS-level Biology topics