Heart attack

A heart attack occurs when a blood clot blocks one of the arteries that supply blood to the heart muscle. The underlying cause of heart attack is coronary heart disease (CHD). This involves the slow build-up of fatty deposits on the inner wall of the coronary arteries (through a process known as atherosclerosis). A heart attack is sometimes called myocardial infarction, coronary thrombosis or coronary occlusion.

Heart attack is a medical emergency. Call triple zero (000) for an ambulance if you or someone you are with experiences the warning signs of heart attack. It is always better to call an ambulance and go to hospital than to wait until it is too late. You will get immediate medical attention, which may save your life.

The heart needs a constant supply of blood
The heart is a double pump that circulates blood around the body. It picks up oxygenated blood from the lungs and sends it around the body through blood vessels called arteries. At the same time, the heart pumps deoxygenated blood from the body back to the lungs.

To perform its duties, the heart needs a generous supply of oxygen and nutrients, which it receives from blood pumped through the two coronary arteries and their branches.

Coronary heart disease and heart attack
Coronary heart disease is a disease of the arteries that surround the heart and supply blood to the heart muscle. Over the years, fatty deposits or plaques build up inside one or more of the coronary arteries. This process is called atherosclerosis and results in narrowing of the arteries, which can lead to angina (temporary chest pain or discomfort).

Heart attack occurs when a blood clot forms at a narrowed point in a coronary artery and suddenly blocks the flow of blood to an area of heart muscle. If the artery remains blocked, the lack of blood supply permanently damages the area of heart muscle supplied by that artery. The severity of the heart attack depends on how much heart muscle is permanently damaged.

Risk factors for coronary heart disease
Risk factors are factors that increase your chance of developing a particular disease. The risk factors for CHD include:

• Smoking
• High blood cholesterol levels
• Physical inactivity
• Unhealthy eating
• Being overweight
• High blood pressure
• Diabetes
• Depression, social isolation and lack of social support.

• Getting older
• Having a family history of early death from coronary heart disease – a first degree relative younger than 60 years old
• Being postmenopausal.

• Pain in the chest – you may experience chest pain or discomfort in the centre of the chest. The pain may come on suddenly or can start slowly, developing over minutes. It may feel like tightness, pressure, heaviness, fullness or squeezing. The pain may be severe, moderate or even mild. It is typically not relieved by rest and angina tablets or similar spray (if the person has been prescribed these).
• Spreading pain or heaviness – symptoms may spread to the neck, throat, jaw, shoulders, back, either or both arms, and into the wrist and hands.
• Discomfort in the upper body – some people do not get any chest pain and may experience only discomfort in these parts of the upper body. There may be a choking feeling in the throat. The arms may feel heavy and useless.
• Other symptoms – these may include difficulty breathing, nausea or vomiting, sweating or a feeling of being dizzy.

1. Immediately stop what you are doing and rest.
2. Tell anyone you are with what you are experiencing.
3. Get help fast if any of your symptoms are severe, get worse quickly or last 10 minutes (even if they are mild). This is an emergency. Call triple zero (000) and ask for an ambulance.
4. Don’t hang up. The operator will give you advice before the ambulance arrives.

1. Have them immediately stop what they are doing and rest.
2. Ask them to describe what they are experiencing.
3. Get help fast if any of their symptoms are severe, get worse quickly or last 10 minutes (even if they are mild). This is an emergency. Call triple zero (000) and ask for an ambulance.
4. Don’t hang up. The operator will give you advice over the phone to help the paramedics and the person before the ambulance arrives.

• Electrocardiogram (ECG) – a reading of the heart’s electrical impulses
• A blood test – to measure levels of substances released into the blood when the heart muscle is damaged
• Angiogram (or cardiac catheterisation) – a special x-ray of your coronary arteries.

• Medications to dissolve a blood clot – for example, one that is blocking a coronary artery.
• Angioplasty – a procedure to open up a blocked coronary artery.
• Long-term use of medications – to lower the risk of further heart problems. Be advised by your doctor, but medications may include a small regular dose of aspirin, a statin (a type of cholesterol-lowering medication), a beta-blocker and an ACE inhibitor.

• Take medication as prescribed.
• Avoid smoking – be smoke free.
• Enjoy healthy eating.
• Be physically active.
• Control your blood pressure.
• Achieve and maintain a healthy body weight.

• Call triple zero (000) for an ambulance immediately – if you, or someone you are with, experience the warning signs of heart attack

• Your doctor
• National Heart Foundation, Heartline Tel. 1300 36 27 87 – to speak to a qualified health professional in heart health www.heartfoundation.com.au

• With heart attack, every minute counts.
• Call triple zero (000) for an ambulance immediately if warning signs of heart attack are experienced.
• Too many people lose their lives because they wait too long to call for an ambulance. Getting to hospital quickly can reduce the damage to your heart and increase your chance of survival.
• A heart attack occurs when the artery or arteries that supply the heart with oxygen and nutrients are blocked.
• Changing your lifestyle can reduce your risk of developing coronary heart disease that may lead to heart attack.

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