Heart Disease (Coronary Artery Disease) Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis, Treatment, and Prevention on MedicineNet.com

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Heart Disease
(Coronary Artery Disease)

Medical Author: Benjamin C. Wedro, MD, FAAEM
Medical Editors: Daniel Kulick, MD, FACC, FSCAI and Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD

A Tale of Two Heart Attacks

Medical Author: Benjamin Wedro, MD, FAAEM
Medical Editor: Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD

Heart disease can lead to heart attack, stroke, diabetes, and other medical conditions Life isn't fair. The tales of Kelsey Grammer and Tim Russert show the two extremes when it comes to heart disease. Mr. Grammer had some chest pain, wandered into a hospital, found out that he had a heart attack myocardial infarction) and walks out a few days later. Mr. Russert has no particular chest pain, but drops dead because of his heart attack.

A heart attack means that part of the heart muscle has lost its blood supply, has died, and has been replaced by scar tissue. Injured heart muscle causes injured electrical systems and can lead to ventricular fibrillation, in which the heart jiggles instead of beats. No heart beat means no blood to the body, which leads to sudden cardiac death.

Sudden cardiac death doesn't really care if the heart attack was mild or not. The most common reason people die in the midst of a heart attack is due to an electrical short circuit caused by heart muscle that has been irritated.

In Mr. Russert's case, bystanders were ready to use an automatic external defibrillator (AED), but the paramedics arrived at the same time to deliver electrical shocks to the heart to treat the ventricular fibrillation. The treatment failed, and they were unable to reverse Mr. Russert's death.

Top Heart Disease Terms

coronary, congenital, rheumatic, symptoms, valvular, ischemic, heart disease in women, cardiovascular, congestive, risk factors, causes, prevention, heart attack

Introduction to heart disease

The heart is like any other muscle, requiring blood to supply oxygen and nutrients for it to function. The heart's needs are provided by the coronary arteries, which begin at the base of the aorta and spread across the surface of the heart, branching out to all areas of the heart muscle.

The coronary arteries are at risk for narrowing as cholesterol deposits, called plaques, build up inside the artery. If the arteries narrow enough, blood supply to the heart muscle may be compromised (slowed down), and this slowing of blood flow to the heart causes pain, or angina.

A heart attack or myocardial infarction occurs when a plaque ruptures, allowing a blood clot to form. This completely obstructs the artery, stopping blood flow to part of the heart muscle, and that portion of muscle dies.

What are the risk factors for heart disease

Risk factors for heart disease include:

Next: What are the symptoms of heart disease? »

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