heart attack

noun

Definition of heart attack

: 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 light-headedness, 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 elder Ferlinghetti died of a heart attack before Lawrence was born. — Emma Brown, Anchorage Daily News, "Lawrence Ferlinghetti, literary citadel of San Francisco, dies at age 101," 23 Feb. 2021 The statement from Samsung did not specify the cause of his death, but the ailing leader had been incapacitated for years after his 2014 heart attack after which his son took over running the company. — Washington Post, "Builder of global tech giant Samsung, Lee Kun-hee, dies at 78," 25 Oct. 2020 Dwight Eisenhower, pictured above after his 1955 heart attack that was initially presented as an upset stomach, was recovering from another emergency surgery when the Middle East exploded in the 1956 Suez crisis. — National Geographic, "How did the U.S. operate in the past when its leader was sick?," 5 Oct. 2020 The 495 patients were aged 65 years or under and hospitalized for their first heart attack in 1993. — Jack Guy, CNN, "A healthy sex life boosts long-term survival hopes for heart attack victims," 23 Sep. 2020 In just the past two months, the 27-year-old basketball player Michael Ojo died from a heart attack during a practice, while the 20-year-old football player Jamain Stephens Jr. died from a blood clot in his heart. — Ed Yong, The Atlantic, "The Core Lesson of the COVID-19 Heart Debate," 21 Sep. 2020 Unhjem already had his peas harvested before his heart attack, but the group spent over seven hours on his durum wheat and canola crops. — Caitlin O'kane, CBS News, "When a farmer suffered a heart attack, 60 neighbors showed up to help out on his farm," 21 Sep. 2020 The Brewers did not replace Murphy in the dugout during games after his heart attack, so Counsell has been managing games without the aid of his closest confidant. — Tom Haudricourt, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Brewers bench coach Pat Murphy, who had a heart attack in August, has rejoined the team," 18 Sep. 2020 Starlight glances briefly at A-Train (Jessie T. Usher), who’s on life-support thanks to his heart attack, and then meets Hughie on the subway. — Nick Schager, EW.com, "The Boys premiere recap: The boys are back in disarray," 4 Sep. 2020

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'heart attack.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Last Updated

28 Feb 2021

Cite this Entry

“Heart attack.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/heart%20attack. Accessed 2 Mar. 2021.

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More Definitions for heart attack

heart attack

noun

English Language Learners Definition of heart attack

: a sudden painful and dangerous condition in which your heart stops beating properly

See the full definition for heart attack in the English Language Learners Dictionary

heart attack

noun

Medical Definition of heart attack

: 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

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, May 1993 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, 7 Jan. 1994

— called also acute myocardial infarction, myocardial infarction

— compare angina pectoris, coronary insufficiency, heart failure sense 1

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