Back Hartaanval Afrikaans Myokardinfarkt ALS Infarto de miocardio AN نوبة قلبية Arabic মাইঅ'কাৰ্দিয়েল ইনফাৰ্কচন Assamese Infartu agudu de miocardiu AST Ürək tutması Azerbaijani اۆرک حمله سی AZB Миокард инфаркты Bashkir Mijokarda infarkts BAT-SMG
| Myocardial infarction | |
|---|---|
| Classification and external resources | |
 | |
| ICD-10 | I21.-I22. |
| ICD-9 | 410 |
| DiseasesDB | 8664 |
| MedlinePlus | 000195 |
| eMedicine | med/1567 emerg/327 ped/2520 |
| MeSH | D009203 |
A myocardial infarction, also and commonly called a heart attack, happens when a blood vessel in the heart suddenly becomes blocked. Blood vessels carry blood and oxygen. When a blood vessel in the heart gets blocked, blood cannot get to part of the heart. This part of the heart does not get enough oxygen. This is called ischemia. When the heart muscle becomes ischemic (does not get enough blood and oxygen), the ischemia often causes chest pain. This is called Angina Pectoris. If the ischemia lasts long enough, the heart muscle that is not getting enough oxygen dies. This is called an infarction. "Myocardial infarction" means "infarction (muscle death) in the heart muscle."
A heart attack is a medical emergency. The first few minutes are very important for keeping the person alive. Some of the damage from the heart attack can be repaired if the person gets treatment within the first hour of the attack.