Is a myocardial infarction a heart attack?

Answer 1

A myocardial infarction is a heart attack. It is caused when the cells of the muscle of the heart do not get enough oxygen and glucose, resulting in anaerobic metabolism and buildup of products of that metabolism, resulting in cellular acidosis, shutdown of cellular metabolism, and finally cell death and necrosis.

In the overwhelming number of casea, this process results from the blockage of a coronary artery by a thrombus formed when a cholesterol plaque ruptures, causing a clot to form. It can be caused by several other things, however. Severe dehydration, severe hypotension, partial blockage of an artery by a large plaque that has not ruptured and other low flow states can result in not enough oxygen and glucose getting to the cells. Also, anything that increases the metabolic demands on the heart muscle can cause similar effects - sepsis with shock, toxins, drugs, and poisonings.