heart attack


noun Pathology.

damage to an area of heart muscle that is deprived of oxygen, usually due to blockage of a diseased coronary artery, typically accompanied by chest pain radiating down one or both arms, the severity of the attack varying with the extent and location of the damage; myocardial infarction.

Origin of heart attack

First recorded in 1925–30

Example sentences from the Web for heart attack

  • She must have suffered a heart-attack and fallen as she tried to cross the room alone.

    Destiny |Charles Neville Buck

British Dictionary definitions for heart attack

heart attack

noun

any sudden severe instance of abnormal heart functioning, esp coronary thrombosis

Medical definitions for heart attack

heart attack

n.

Acute myocardial infarction typically resulting from an occlusion or obstruction of a coronary artery and characterized by sudden, severe pain in the chest that often radiates to the shoulder, arm, or jaw.

Scientific definitions for heart attack

heart attack

Necrosis of a region of the heart muscle caused by an interruption in the supply of blood to the heart, usually as a result of occlusion of a coronary artery resulting from coronary artery disease. Symptoms typically include sudden, crushing chest pain, nausea, and sweating. Characteristic changes in the electrocardiogram are used to diagnose heart attacks. Also called myocardial infarction

Cultural definitions for heart attack

heart attack

An episode of heart failure or the stopping of normal heart function; a coronary thrombosis. Symptoms of a heart attack include pain and pressure in the chest, which often spread to the shoulder, arm, and neck. Today, physicians tend to define heart attack in terms of muscle damage to the heart caused by oxygen deprivation.