What is a Heart Attack?
A heart attack happens when the blood flow to the heart muscle itself is suddenly blocked.
The heart muscle can die from lack of oxygen-rich blood.
A heart attack happens when the blood flow to the heart muscle itself is suddenly blocked.
The heart muscle can die from lack of oxygen-rich blood.
Your heart needs oxygen to keep on working.
Our blood transports the oxygen to the heart muscle. This transport takes place through blood vessels in the wall of the heart.
Without oxygen, the heart muscle no longer works properly.
So with a blocked bloodflow to your heart muscle you immediatly may have a problem.
Depending on how big the blocked part of the heart is, problems can be smaller or bigger.
You may notice little or nothing. Or you can experience a lot of pain.
And if your heart has so little oxygen that it stops pumping, you’re lost.
Unfortunately you don’t have a spare heart.
During a heart attack, the blood supply to (a part of) the heart muscle is suddenly blocked. This can cause minor or major damage.
There may be deposits of cholesterol and other substances in the wall of your arteries.
These deposits are called plaques. They can form in the blood vessels of the heart or elsewhere in the body.
As a result of the plaques, the blood vessels gradually narrow.
At first you may not notice it at all at rest.
During exercise, however, you may suffer from insufficient blood supply (not enough oxygen) to your heart.
When you climb stairs, your heart needs more oxygen than when you read a book.
So, during excercise with narrowed heart vessles, too little oxygen can get into the heart muscle.
As a result you may experience chest pain while climbing stairs. We call this angina.
If the blood vessel further narrows, you may even experience chest pain at rest.
A heart attack is an acute emergency.
The plaque suddenly ruptures and the substances from the plaque come into direct contact with the blood.
In response to this, the blood begins to clot. The blood vessel closes immediately and now we are in big trouble.
The damage to the heart depends on the size of the part of the heart that gets too little oxygen. If the damage is too great, you can lose your heart.
Emergency medical procedures for a heart attack may include on-site resuscitation, the use of medications, or surgery.