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

Health concerns related to poor air quality may include difficulty breathing, coughing or wheezing and more serious health effects such as lung damage, asthma attacks, heart attacks and stroke. —Tanya Wildt, Freep.com, 5 July 2025

The major causes of death associated with smoking include cardiovascular diseases such as strokes and heart attacks; cancers, among which lung, pancreatic, esophageal, bladder, colorectal and renal; and pulmonary conditions such as chronic obstructive lung disease, pneumonia and bronchitis. —Joshua P. Cohen, Forbes.com, 5 July 2025

The hospital beds are full of people who should be in nursing homes—people recovering from surgeries or heart attacks who can’t go home yet but have nowhere else to go. —Ashish Jha, Time, 3 July 2025

In turn, evidence shows people who are more physically active have fewer rates of heart attacks and are less likely to develop high blood pressure or obesity. —Bymary Kekatos, ABC News, 3 July 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1836, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for heart attack

• almanac
• camelback
• cardiac
• carryback
• cluniac
• diamondback
• lumberjack
• maniac
• paperback
• piggyback
• quarterback
• saddleback

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