My husband went to the hospital with chest pain last night, and they performed an urgent balloon and stent on him. They said he had a heart attack. I know you hear about people having heart attacks all of the time, but I realized I don’t even know what that means.
A heart attack occurs when the arteries that supply blood to the heart, called the coronary arteries, abruptly close and don’t supply adequate blood and oxygen to the heart muscle. The heart muscle then becomes damaged. This usually occurs when a cholesterol plaque in the artery ruptures and a blood clot forms and blocks the blood completely.
It is very important at the first signs of a heart attack to call 911 immediately. The most common symptom is chest pain, associated with shortness of breath and commonly diaphoressis (severe sweating). The earlier a doctor can “unblock” the artery with a balloon and a stent, the more of the heart muscle that is likely to recover.
To learn more about heart attacks, watch this video from VideoMD.com.
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