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

After officers wrestled him to the ground and paramedics injected him with a potent sedative, McClain suffered a heart attack on the way to a hospital and died days later, authorities said. —Aya Elamroussi, CNN, 23 Sep. 2023

Additionally, O’Donnell shared on the show that the experience drove her to doing an HBO special educating people on the signs of a heart attack in women in 2015. —Vanessa Etienne, Peoplemag, 20 Sep. 2023

California Female commander fired after drunken incident calls out LAPD ‘double standard’ Aug. 9, 2023 Last September, Maria suffered a heart attack and underwent triple bypass surgery. —Libor Jany, Los Angeles Times, 14 Sep. 2023

Older Americans appear to be having fewer heart attacks and strokes, the likely result of effective cholesterol and blood pressure medicines that became cheap and widely used in recent years, according to research from Cutler and colleagues. —Alicia Parlapiano, BostonGlobe.com, 5 Sep. 2023

Though more research is needed to determine the risk of lung cancer, heart attacks and strokes posed by cannabis smoke, what is already known has raised concerns among public health agencies. —Beth Cohen, University Of California, Discover Magazine, 4 Sep. 2023

Charles died of a heart attack in September 2017 at the age of 54, a few years before Giannis earned NBA MVP Awards in 2019 and 2020 and three of his sons won NBA championships. —Emily Krauser, Peoplemag, 13 Sep. 2023

Abusing laxatives in this way may lead to dehydration, cramping, nausea, vomiting or low potassium levels in the blood, which can increase the risk of a heart attack. —Aria Bendix, NBC News, 12 Sep. 2023

In people with severe heart disease (the kind with blockages in the arteries), overdoing exercise can lead to a heart attack, but these are exceptions. —Dr. Keith Roach, oregonlive, 12 Sep. 2023

See More

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