heart attack

noun

: an acute episode of coronary heart disease marked by the death or damage of heart muscle due to insufficient blood supply to the heart usually as a result of a coronary artery becoming blocked by a blood clot formed in response to a ruptured or torn fatty arterial deposit

Note: Symptoms of heart attack include discomfort or pain in the chest, shoulder, arm, back, neck, or jaw, shortness of breath, dizziness or lightheadedness, heartburn, nausea, excessive sweating, and extreme fatigue.

called also myocardial infarction

Examples of heart attack in a Sentence

Her chest pains turned out to be caused by a minor heart attack.

He died of a massive heart attack.

Recent Examples on the Web

The trial, which took 10 years to enroll, followed 355 patients for 180 days in Denmark, Germany, and the United Kingdom who came into the hospital with a heart attack and dangerously low blood flow, known as cardiogenic shock. —Lizzy Lawrence, STAT, 7 Apr. 2024

Richard died in 1979 of a heart attack at the age of 31. —Gabrielle Rockson, Peoplemag, 5 Apr. 2024

Country rap musician Colt Ford has been hospitalized in Mesa, Arizona, after suffering a heart attack on Thursday evening. —Larisha Paul, Rolling Stone, 5 Apr. 2024

Birth control pills can raise the risk for blood clots, strokes, and heart attacks. —Maggie Fox, TIME, 5 Apr. 2024

Tragically, supplements with this ingredient were linked to at least two deaths and several more non-fatal strokes and heart attacks. —Discover Magazine, 3 Apr. 2024

Periodontitis is associated with a slew of systemic ills: heart attacks, strokes, heart failure, diabetes, endocarditis, chronic kidney disease, recurrent pneumonia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, gastritis, rheumatoid arthritis, cancer and cognitive impairment. —Lola Butcher, Smithsonian Magazine, 29 Mar. 2024

Risk of Heart Attack: People who frequently smoke marijuana have a higher risk of heart attack and stroke, according to a study that has researchers and experts concerned. —Corey Kilgannon, New York Times, 26 Mar. 2024

All are grilled, all with a low chance of contributing to a heart attacks. —Ella Gonzales, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 27 Mar. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1836, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

heart attack

noun

: a sudden severe occurrence of damage to heart muscle caused by too little blood going to the heart usually as a result of the blocking of a coronary artery (as by a bit of fatty matter)

Medical Definition

heart attack

noun

: an acute episode of coronary heart disease marked by the death or damage of heart muscle due to insufficient blood supply to the heart muscle usually as a result of a coronary artery becoming blocked by a blood clot formed in response to a ruptured or torn fatty arterial deposit

Note: Symptoms of heart attack include discomfort or pain in the chest, shoulder, arm, back, neck, or jaw, shortness of breath, dizziness or light-headedness, heartburn, nausea, excessive sweating, and extreme fatigue.

When a patient is in the throes of a heart attack, the physician's goal is restoring adequate blood flow to the starving heart muscle as swiftly as possible.

—Harvard Medical School Health Letter

It has long been known that aspirin helps prevent blood clots … and many studies have shown that the drug can reduce the incidence of heart attacks and strokes.

—Peter Aldhous, Science

called also acute myocardial infarction, myocardial infarction

compare angina pectoris, coronary insufficiency, heart failure sense 1