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 cause was complications of a heart attack, said his wife, Denise Smith. — Jon Pareles, New York Times, 8 June 2022 King George VI had died in his sleep of a heart attack during the night. — Deborah Hart Strober And Gerald Strober, Town & Country, 3 June 2022 Vitalis Udoka died of a heart attack in 2006, and Agnes Udoka died after a brief battle with cancer five years later. — Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 3 June 2022 Joe Garcia died of a heart attack two days after his wife was gunned down. — Chris Boyette, CNN, 2 June 2022 Joe Garcia, a loyal parishioner whose wife, Irma, was one of two teachers killed at Robb Elementary, had died of a heart attack after visiting a memorial to the victims. — Teo Armus, Washington Post, 2 June 2022 Each one was labeled with the names of the 21 victims of the shooting, as well as the husband of one of the teachers who died of a heart attack shortly after his wife’s death. — Rafael Carranza, USA TODAY, 29 May 2022 Joe Garcia, whose wife, Irma, was killed, has died of a heart attack. — Laura Blasey, Los Angeles Times, 27 May 2022 Garcia’s husband, Joe, died Thursday of a heart attack, minutes after dropping off flowers at her memorial, The New York Times reports. — Tomás Mier, Rolling Stone, 26 May 2022 See More

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

16 Jun 2022

Cite this Entry

“Heart attack.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/heart%20attack. Accessed 26 Jun. 2022.

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More Definitions for heart attack

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 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