heart attack…

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heart, section, the middle, heart, acute mi, post myocardial infarction ecg wave tracings, progressive build-up of plaque in coronary artery, posterior heart arteries, anterior heart arteries, heart attack symptoms, myocardial infarction, mi, acute mi, a heart attack, myocardial infarction, occurs, an area of heart muscle dies, permanently damaged, an inadequate supply of oxygen to that area, most heart attacks, a clot, blocks one, the coronary arteries, blood vessels that bring blood, oxygen, heart muscle, clot, forms, coronary artery, previously narrowed from changes related to atherosclerosis, atherosclerotic plaque, buildup, inside the arterial wall sometimes cracks, triggers the formation of a clot, a thrombus, a clot, in the coronary artery interrupts the flow of blood, oxygen, heart muscle, death of heart cells in that area, damaged heart muscle, loses its ability to contract, remaining heart muscle needs to compensate, weakened area, sudden overwhelming stress, trigger a heart attack, difficult to estimate exactly how common heart attacks, 000 to 300, 000 people, in the united states die each year, medical help is sought, estimated that approximately 1 million patients visit the hospital each year, a heart attack, risk factors, coronary artery disease, heart attack, smoking, high blood pressure, too much fat in diet, poor blood cholesterol levels, high ldl, "bad", cholesterol, low hdl, "good", cholesterol, diabetes, male gender, heredity, the risk factors listed, related to overweight, newer risk factors, coronary artery disease have been identified over the past several years, elevated homocysteine, c-reactive protein, fibrinogen levels, high homocysteine, folic acid supplements, in the diet, studies, still ongoing, the practical value of these new factors, heart attack accounts, 1 out of every 5 deaths, a major cause of sudden death in adults, chest pain behind the sternum, breastbone, major symptom of heart attack, in many cases the pain subtle, completely absent, a "silent heart attack", in the elderly, diabetics, pain radiates from chest to arms, shoulder, neck, teeth, jaw, abdomen, pain is only felt in one these other locations, pain typically lasts longer than 20 minutes, generally not fully relieved by rest, nitrioglycerine, clear pain from angina, pain, intense, severe, quite subtle, confusing, squeezing, heavy pressure, a tight band on the chest, "an elephant sitting on [your] chest", bad indigestion, symptoms you, have either alone, chest pain, shortness of breath, cough, lightheadedness, dizziness, fainting, nausea, vomiting, sweating, profuse, feeling of "impending doom", anxiety, a physical examination, note a rapid pulse, blood pressure normal, listening, chest, a stethoscope, hear crackles, in the lungs, a heart murmur, abnormal sounds, following tests, reveal a heart attack, extent of heart damage, electrocardiogram, ecg, single, repeated over several hours, echocardiography, coronary angiography, nuclear ventriculography, muga, rnv, following tests, by-products of heart damage, factors indicating have a high risk, heart attack, troponin i, troponin t, ck, ck-mb, serum myoglobin, a heart attack, medical emergency! hospitalization, intensive care, continuous ecg monitoring is started, life-threatening arrhythmias, the leading cause of death, in the first few hours of a heart attack, goals of treatment, to stop the progression, the heart attack, to reduce the demands on the heart so that it, heal, prevent complications, medications, fluids, inserted directly into a vein using an intravenous, iv, line, various monitoring devices necessary, a urinary catheter inserted to closely monitor fluid status, oxygen, blood oxygen levels, makes oxygen readily available, tissues, reduces the workload, the heart, pain control medications, intravenous nitroglycerin, medicines, pain, to reduce the oxygen requirements, the heart, morphine, similar medicines, potent pain killers, heart attack, blood thinning medications, ecg recorded, chest pain shows a change, "st-segment elevation", clot-dissolving, thrombolytic, therapy initiated, 6 hours of, chest pain began, initial therapy, administered, an iv infusion of streptokinase, tissue plasminogen activator, followed, iv infusion of heparin, heparin therapy, last, 48 to 72 hours, additionally, warfarin, taken orally, prevent further development of clots, thrombolytic therapy is not appropriate, had, a major surgery, organ biopsy, major trauma, the past 6 weeks, recent neurosurgery, head trauma, the past month, history of gi, gastrointestinal, bleed, brain tumor, stroke, the past 6 months, current severely elevated high blood pressure, thrombolytic therapy, complicated by significant bleeding, a cornerstone of therapy, heart attack is antiplatelet medication, such medication, prevent the collection of platelets at a site of injury, blood vessel wall, a crack in an atherosclerotic plaque, platelets collecting, accumulating, initial event that leads to clot formation, one antiplatelet agent widely used is aspirin, two other important antiplatelet medications, ticlopidine, ticlid, clopidogrel, plavix, medications, beta-blockers, metoprolol, atenolol, propranolol, reduce the workload, the heart, ace inhibitors, ramipril, lisinopril, enalapril, captopril, prevent heart failure, surgery and other procedures, emergency coronary angioplasty required to open blocked coronary arteries, procedure used instead of thrombolytic therapy, in cases where thrombolytics should not be used, the re-opening, the coronary artery after angioplasty is ensured by implantation of a small device, a stent, emergency coronary artery bypass surgery, cabg, required , heart disease support group, expected outcome, location of damaged tissue, outcome is worse, electrical conduction system, impulses that guide heart contraction, one-third of cases, fatal, person is alive 2 hours after an attack, probable outcome, survival is good, complications, uncomplicated cases, recover fully, heart attacks, not necessarily disabling, the person, gradually resume normal activity, lifestyle, sexual activity, arrhythmias ventricular tachycardia, ventricular fibrillation, heart blocks, congestive heart failure, cardiogenic shock, infarct extension, extension, heart tissue, pericarditis, infection around the lining, the heart, pulmonary embolism, blood clot, in the lungs, complications of treatment, thrombolytic agents increases the risk of bleeding, call local emergency number, crushing chest pain, symptoms suggestive of heart attack occur, prevent a heart attack, control blood pressure, control total cholesterol levels, cholesterol control, prescribe a medication, the statins group, atorvastatin, simvastatin, stop smoking, smoke, eat a low fat diet rich in fruits, vegetables, low in animal fat, control diabetes, lose weight, overweight, exercise daily, several times a week by walking, exercises to improve heart fitness, consult health care provider, have one, risk factors, heart disease, possibly taking aspirin to help, prevent a heart attack, after a heart attack, follow-up care is important to reduce the risk of having a second heart attack, a cardiac rehabilitation program is recommended to help gradually return to a "normal" lifestyle, follow the exercise, diet, medication regimen, prescribed by doctor.