renal failure

MYOCARDIAL INFARCTION....

HEART ATTACK...

A heart attack occurs when blood flow to a part of your heart is blocked for a long enough time that part of the heart muscle is damaged or dies. The medical term for this is myocardial infarction.

Causes

Most heart attacks are caused by a blood clot that blocks one of the coronary arteries. The coronary arteries bring blood and oxygen to the heart. If the blood flow is blocked, the heart is starved of oxygen and heart cells die.

A hard substance called plaque can build up in the walls of your coronary arteries. This plaque is made up of cholesterol and other cells.

A heart attack may occur when:

• Blood platelets stick to tears in the plaque and form a blood clot that blocks blood from flowing to the heart. This is the most common cause of heart attacks.
• A slow buildup of this plaque may almost block one of your coronary arteries.

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000195.htm

Symptoms

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001246/

Chest pain is the most common symptom of a heart attack. You may feel the pain in only one part of your body, or it may move from your chest to your arms, shoulder, neck, teeth, jaw, belly area, or back.

Other symptoms are..

• Anxiety
• Cough
• Fainting
• Light-headedness, dizziness
• Nausea or vomiting
• Palpitations (feeling like your heart is beating too fast or irregularly)
• Shortness of breath
• Sweating, which may be very heavy

Some people (the elderly, people with diabetes, and women) may have little or no chest pain. Or, they may have unusual symptoms (shortness of breath, fatigue, and weakness). A "silent heart attack" is a heart attack with no symptoms.