Myocardial Infarction Essay

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A myocardial infarction, commonly known as a heart attack, is a diseased state in the heart that occurs when the blood supply to a part of the heart has been occluded or interrupted. This results in a state of ischemia in which oxygen shortage to the heart causes damage and potential death of the heart tissue itself (Black & Hawks, 2009). This is considered a medical emergency, and is leading cause of death in both men and women all over the world. Past history can play a major role and important risk factors can include a previous history of vascular diseases such as atherosclerotic coronary heart disease and/or angina, a previously suffered heart attack or stroke, any cases of abnormal heart rhythms and snycopal episodes (Hudson, M., Christenson, R., Newby, L., Kaplan, A., & Ohman, E. 1999). In men over forty and women over fifty, smoking, the abuse of illicit drugs, excessive alcohol consumption, high triglyceride levels, high blood pressure, high LDL and low HDL levels, obesity, and chronically high levels of stress can majorly increase the chances of a myocardial infarction (Black & Hawks, 2009). The meaning of a myocardial infarction comes from the heart muscle (myocardium) and tissue death due to the starvation of oxygen (infarction). This has become commonly known as a "heart attack", which is sometimes used incorrectly to describe sudden cardiac death, which may or may not have been the result of acute myocardial infarction. A myocardial infarction occurs when an atherosclerotic plaque continues to build up in the inner linings of coronary arteries causing them to suddenly rupture, totally occluding the artery and preventing blood flow downstream. Acute myocardial infarction is a type of an acute coronary syndrome, in which it is frequently a manifestation of coronary artery disease (White, H., & Chew, D. 2008). The most common triggering event is

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