Taking a Look at Myocardial Infraction

Ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and the Chinese are responsible for the early study of the heart.

“About 5.8 million people in the United States have heart failure. The number of people who have this condition is growing. Heart failure is a leading cause of hospital stays among people on Medicare” (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, 2012). It is very common in individuals who are 65 years old or older, overweight people, and children with congenital heart defects. Heart failure is a chronic condition characterized by the heart’s inability to pump enough amounts of blood rich in oxygen and nutrients throughout the body in order to meet its needs.

The study of the heart and it’s vessels date back as far as 300 b.c. physicians have always had a profound fascination with this organ and it’s many functions. Medical documentation that specifically maintains to the heart have been recovered from cultures including, India and China. Within these cultures physicians had developed their own unique way of taking their patient’s pulse in order to locate any abnormalities, diseases, and disorders that were causing distress to their patients.

The heart is an organ that pumps blood around the body by using 2 separate pumps side by side. The left side of the pump deals with oxygenated blood from the lungs whereas the right one deals with deoxygenated blood from the body. Each pump has 2 chambers called atrium and ventricle. The walls of the atrium are thinner than the ventricle because the atrium only has to pump blood to a short distance (to the ventricle) whereas the ventricles need to pump blood to the rest of the body. The heart has 3 types of pacemaker cells called; Sino atrial (SA) node, Atrioventricular (AV) node and bundle of His which make up the electrical conduction system. SA node found in the right atrium sends a wave of depolarisation to the neighbouring muscle junction, to the left atrium by the Bachmann’s bundle and also to the AV node by the internodal tract. AV node delays the wave of depolarisation causing the ventricle to contract after the atria. The AV node causes that delay to allow all the blood to fully move from the atria to the ventricle then the ventricle can contract sending the blood out the heart. After the AV node has delayed the wave of depolarisation, the wave continues down by a bundle of His and the fibres split up by the Purkinje fibres allowing the muscle to get involved. The wave of electrical released from the fibres causes the ventricles to contract.

Myocardial ischemia occurs in the coronary arteries. It reduces the ability to pump the blood to the heart, which will prevent the heart from getting enough oxygen to work efficiently. According to the Mayo Clinic, “A sudden, severe blockage of a coronary artery can lead to a heart attack.”[1] Myocardial ischemia can cause a severe abnormal heart rhythm, which sometimes leads to death. Myocardial ischemia also is known as ischemic cardiomyopathy. This essay will cover, the causes, risk factors, and lifestyle changes in ischemic cardiomyopathy.

LeMone, Burke, & Bostick (2012) states that an acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is when blood flow to a portion of cardiac muscle is obstructed, which causes prolonged tissue ischaemia and irreversible hypoxaemic cell necrosis and tissue damage. It is the necrosis of myocardial cells caused by a coronary occlusion which is usually due to the rupture of a complicated atherosclerotic lesion (LeMone, Burke, & Bostick, 2012).

A heart attack, also known as a myocardial infarction, usually occurs when a blood clot forms inside a coronary artery at the site of an atherosclerotic plaque. The blood clot severely limits or completely cuts off blood flow to part of the heart. In a small percentage of cases, blood flow is cut off when the muscles in the artery wall contract suddenly, constricting the artery. This constriction, called vasospasm, can occur in an artery that is only slightly narrowed by atherosclerosis or even in a healthy artery. Regardless of the cause of a heart attack, the oxygen deprivation is so severe and prolonged that heart muscle cells begin to die for lack of oxygen. About 1.1 million people in the United States have a heart attack every year;

According to “Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,” the leading cause for death for both genders is “heart attacks.” About 610,000 people die every year the United States from heart attacks and they usually occur between the ages of 18-55. It’s a pretty wide range. “Heart Attacks” or “Myocardial Infarctions” occur when plaque builds up in coronary arteries and stop the flow of oxygen-rich blood to the heart. If the blood flow ceases to continue, the heart muscle begins to die. Causes are the Coronary Heart Disease, which is when the arteries are blocked and Atherosclerosis, which is the buildup of plaque. Plaque takes several years to build up. If the plaque bursts, then a blood clot is formed and this can also hinder blood flow. Another

If you notice that you feel out of breath, extremely tired and under the weather, these may be symptoms of a heart attack (aka myocardial infarction). Myocardial infarctions remain the main cause of death for both men and women in the U.S.

Myocardial Infarction is more commonly known as a heart attack. When Myocardial Infarction occurs, a coronary artery is clogged, which takes blood supply from the heart, and causes the death of heart muscle. Myocardial Infarction can be caused by many things, including an unhealthy diet, lack of exercise, excessive smoking or drinking, or the use of recreational drugs. It can also be caused by existing heart diseases, when they are not treated properly. The symptoms include, shortness of breath, nausea, sweating, anxiety, and extreme chest pain. There are multiple tests that can be done to figure out if a patient has experienced Myocardial Infarction, such as a chest x-ray, an electrocardiogram (a test of the heart's activity), or an echocardiogram.

Myocardial Infarction (MI); heart attack affected Circulatory system, the sudden passing of heart muscle due to limited stream of oxygenated blood to the heart muscle; characterized by strongly chest pain, sweating, shortness of breath, or some of the time none of these symptoms. Myocardial areas of dead tissue, superior known as heart attack happen when there are interferences within the blood supplies to the heart and pumps blood from the heart to other vital organs. The heart is an exceedingly specialized muscle whose work is to pump life-sustaining blood to all parts of the body. Its activity includes creating weight to impel blood through arriving and leaving channels veins and arteries that must keep up that weight

The main cause of myocardial infarction is the occlusion of the coronary artery, due to the sudden rupture of an atherosclerotic plaque leading to the formation of a blood clot (coronary thrombosis). The formation of plaque is the result of damage to the endothelium layer of cells, caused by high blood pressure, smoking, or high cholesterol. Over time, an accumulation of cholesterol in the artery wall becomes plaque (Beckerman, 2016). This event can also trigger coronary vasospasm, causing constriction of blood vessels, resulting in severe hypertension. If a vessel is fully occluded, an insufficient amount of oxygen results in tissue death. The damaged tissue is comprised of both a necrotic core and a marginal zone consisting of hypoxic tissue that may generate arrhythmias, abnormal heart rhythms. Infarcted tissue can alter ventricular systolic and diastolic function and disrupt electrical activity within the heart. Inevitably, this tissue forms a fibrotic scar. Long-term consequences include ventricular failure, ventricular remodeling of the remaining myocardium, or sudden death (Klabunde, 2007).

Myocardial infarction is a common health threat that is seen in the healthcare field. A Myocardial infarction happens when the heart has a lack of blood supply caused by a blocked blood vessel. If the heart is not getting adequate blood and oxygen this can damage the heart and cause a myocardial infarction. Blockage is usually caused by plaque that builds up and then occludes the vessel (Craig, J., 2011). It is important as healthcare professionals to understand risk factors, signs and symptoms, and ways to prevent heart attacks. The purpose of this paper will be to educate on modifiable risk factors, ways patients can detect signs of a heart attack, and ways to prevent an attack from happening.

In Australia between 1993 and 2010, total of 714,262 were hospitalized for MI, representing 331,871,389 person-year. Prior studies have

As the population ages heart failure is expected to increase exceptionally. About twenty-two percent of men and forty-four percent of women will develop heart failure within six years of having a heart attack. “Thirty years ago patients would have died from their heart attacks!” (Couzens)