Heart Attack (Myocardial Infarction) – Cedars-Sinai

Half the deaths from a heart attack occur in the first 3 or 4 hours after symptoms begin. It is crucial that symptoms of a heart attack be treated as a medical emergency. A person with these symptoms should be taken to the emergency department of a hospital in an ambulance with trained personnel.

The sooner that treatment of a heart attack begins, the better. Chewing an aspirin tablet after an ambulance has been called can help reduce the size of the blood clot. A beta-blocker may be given to slow the heart rate so the heart is not working as hard and to reduce the damage to the heart muscle. Often a person who is having a heart attack is given oxygen, which also helps heart tissue damage to be less.

People who may be having a heart attack are usually admitted to a hospital that has a cardiac care unit. Heart rhythm, blood pressure and the amount of oxygen in the blood are closely monitored so that heart damage can be assessed. Nurses in these units are specially trained to care for people with heart problems and to handle cardiac emergencies.

Drugs may be used to dissolve blood clots in the artery so that heart tissue can be saved. To be effective, these drugs must be given intravenously within six hours of the start of the symptoms of a heart attack. After six hours, most damage is permanent. (People who have bleeding conditions or severe high blood pressure and those who have had recent surgery or a stroke cannot be given these drugs.)

Instead of drug therapy, angioplasty may be performed immediately to clear the arteries. This approach is preferred as primary therapy in heart attacks. If the blockages are extensive, then coronary artery bypass surgery may be necessary.

Chances of surviving a heart attack can improve when an individual recognizes the symptoms early and seeks immediate medical attention. One out of every 10 people who have heart attacks, however, die within a year - usually within the first three or four months. Typically, these people continue to have chest pain, abnormal heart rhythms or heart failure. Older people and smaller people tend to not do as well after a heart attack as younger people and larger people. This may be one reason why women tend to fare less well than men after a heart attack - they tend to be both older and smaller, as well as have other disorders. They also tend to wait longer after a heart attack before going to the hospital.

After a heart attack (myocardial infarction), a doctor may require additional tests or treatment, including:

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Heart Attack (Myocardial Infarction) - Cedars-Sinai