heart attack

noun

Updated on: 14 Apr 2018

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

See heart attack defined for English-language learners

See heart attack defined for kids

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 of heart attack from the Web

Hill said Mayers, a pilot and graduate of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, died of a heart attack.

— jacqueline charles, miamiherald, "Barbados’ top government official in Miami dies | Miami Herald," 6 Apr. 2018
Lawyer Jaime Hernandez said the family told him the 91-year-old died of a heart attack.

— sonia perez d., USA TODAY, "Former Guatemala dictator Rios Montt, 91, dies facing genocide charges," 3 Apr. 2018
Reynolds died in December 2016 from a stroke, one day after Fisher died of a heart attack.

— rania aniftos, Billboard, "Billie Lourd Remembers Grandma Debbie Reynolds on Late Star's 86th Birthday," 2 Apr. 2018
Former England and Chelsea midfielder Ray Wilkins is in critical condition in a London hospital after suffering from a heart attack at home.

— SI.com, "Chelsea & England Legend Ray Wilkins in Critical Condition Following Heart Attack at Home," 31 Mar. 2018
However, the only child of Gabor, Francesca Hilton, died of a heart attack at age 67 in 2015.

— philip potempa, Post-Tribune, "Zsa Zsa Gabor's furnishings and treasures up for auction," 28 Mar. 2018
Shandling died of a heart attack at age 66 in 2016.

— BostonGlobe.com, "Judd Apatow memorializes Garry Shandling with documentary," 21 Mar. 2018
Farrell is continuing other programs to address rampant mental illness on our streets that were begun by Mayor Ed Lee, who died of a heart attack on Dec. 12.

— heather knight, San Francisco Chronicle, "Laura’s Law is helping many — but still only making a dent in SF," 10 Mar. 2018
The probe, made public this week, found multiple shortcomings in the care provided at United Medical Center’s nursing home to Warren Webb, who died of a heart attack at the facility in August.

— peter jamison, Washington Post, "Regulators fault public hospital for care of patient left on floor before he died," 16 Feb. 2018

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.

First Known Use of heart attack

1836

HEART ATTACK Defined for English Language Learners

heart attack

noun

Definition of heart attack for English Language Learners

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

Medical 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