subject: What Are The Symptoms Of Myocardial Infarction [print this page] Myocardial infarction is the medical term for heart attack in which the blood flow to the heart muscle is impeded due to an occlusion or continuous occlusion of the coronary artery/arteries. This can be due to stroke or atherosclerosis. This eventually results to the death of the heart muscle resulting to a scar tissue because of oxygen deprivation making the pumping action hard to perform. To prevent the death of the heart muscle, blockage must be immediately removed.
There are types of myocardial infarction based on the location of the heart where the scar tissue has developed:
Right ventricular infarction
The occluded part/s is usually the left circumflex and the right coronary artery. This type of myocardial infarction greatly affects the pulmonary circulation since the right ventricle supposedly pumps harder.
Posterior wall infarction
In this type of myocardial infarction, the posterior branch of the right coronary artery is occluded; the back wall of the left ventricle is eventually deprived of oxygen.
Inferior wall infarction
The base of the left ventricle is deprived of oxygen due to the occluded right coronary artery.
Lateral wall infarction
The lateral branch of the circumflex artery is occluded in which the anterior and lateral areas are deprived of oxygen.
Anterior wall infarction
The left anterior descending artery is occluded which affects the front wall of the left ventricle. Cardiogenic shock commonly results with this type of myocardial infarction if not treated well.
Risk factors:
Heredity
Age
Gender
Sedentary lifestyle
Continuous stressful events
High cholesterol and sodium diet
Cigarette/tobacco smoking
Diabetes mellitus
High blood pressure
Symptoms of myocardial infarction:
Sudden pain in the chest which radiates to the left arm or shoulder
Difficulty breathing
Pallor
Clammy hands
Cold sweat
Nausea and vomiting
Palpitation
Sense of impending doom
According to certain studies women are asymptomatic and tend to experience less symptoms than men which should not be taken for granted.
Diagnostic tests:
Electrocardiogram
This lets you know your hearts electrical activity
Echocardiogram/echocardiography
This test uses sound waves to create an image of the heart and its motion
Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging
This produces accurate pictures of your heart using a non invasive procedure
Blood test
Blood test is necessary since there are blood markers such as creatine-kinase and troponin in which the levels determine the hearts level of damage.
Treatment of myocardial infarction
The damage cannot be reversed though the complications are prevented and the symptoms alleviated. When the attack/myocardial infarction happen, the airway and breathing are first attended before the patient arrives in the resuscitation room, patient is then oxygenated. The classifications of medications prescribed are vasodilators | (to dilate the arteries and increase blood flow), cardiac beta blockers (relaxes heart by reducing heart rate), thrombolytics (dissolves clots) and antiarrhythmics (prevent abnormal heart rhythms).
