When the heart's blood supply is cut off or suddenly and severely restricted the heart muscle begins to die from lack of oxygen creating what is known as myocardial infarction or heart attack. A heart attack is a medical emergency and should always be taken seriously, even when only some of the symptoms apply. Although the term heart attack is often applied to other types of heart condition it is the myocardial infarction that is experienced by approximately one million people in the United States each year with one third of those being fatal. Heart attacks are the most common cause of death in all developed countries. There are many risk factors involved with a heart attack making some people more likely to suffer this serious condition than others.
Men tend to have more heart attacks than women.
Smokers are stricken more often than non-smokers and children of those who have died of a heart attack are more likely to die from this cause. Other factors might include high blood pressure, an unhealthy diet, diabetes mellitus, hyperlipidemia, increased age, stress, atherosclerosis and obesity. In many cases the victim of a heart attack will have a history of angina pectoris or chest pain that is relieved by resting or taking nitroglycerin. In this case the chest pain may be intermittent causing a shortness of breath or fatigue a few days prior to the onset. Often the pain will become more and more frequent even without physical exertion until it has culminated in a heart attack.