It could save your life. Conventional heart attacks occur when a clot forms in coronary arteries that are already plugged with fatty plaques. The clot prevents blood from reaching your heart muscle, so it cannot meet its needs for oxygen and starts to hurt and eventually dies. Then, your heart could stop pumping blood through your body and you can die. If you are fortunate enough to get to an emergency room, doctors will try to dissolve the clot so blood can flow to the heart muscle before it dies and is replaced by scar tissue.
Doctors have several methods that can dissolve the clot.
They usually start by injecting an anticlotting chemical called streptokinase. If this treatment is started early enough, it can remove the clot and prevent permanent damage to the heart muscle. However, two recent studies show that even if this treatment fails, you can still be helped. I'm Dr. Gabe Mirkin on Fitness. Dr. Mirkin's opinions and the references cited are for information only, and are not intended to diagnose or prescribe.