Angioplasty
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In general, the treatment of choice is now angioplasty with stent insertion.
What Is a Heart Attack?
A heart attack, known medically as a myocardial infarction, occurs when a blood clot blocks one of the coronary arteries (see How a Heart Attack Happens ). Each coronary artery supplies blood to a specific part of the heart’s muscular wall, so a blocked artery causes pain and malfunction in the area it supplies. Depending on the location and the amount of heart muscle involved, this malfunction can seriously interfere with the heart’s ability to pump blood. Also, some of the coronary arteries supply areas of the heart that regulate heartbeat, so a blockage sometimes causes potentially fatal abnormal heartbeats called cardiac arrhythmias. Most people are familiar with the classic description of a heart attack: crushing chest pressure; pain radiating to the neck, jaw, back, or arm; sweating and shortness of breath; sudden "indigestion" that isn’t relieved by antacids. If you experience these symptoms or others that indicate you may be having a heart attack
Common Symptoms of a Heart Attack
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Learn the symptoms of a heart attack and seek help immediately if you think you are having one. Although the most common sign of a heart attack in both men and women is chest pain or discomfort, other symptoms tend to vary depending on your gender.
Men
Women
Pain or discomfort in the center of the chest
Pain or discomfort that radiates to upper body, especially shoulders or arms and neck
Sweating
Dizziness
Pain or discomfort in the center of the chest (though not as frequently as in men)
Shortness of breath
Weakness, fatigue
Nausea/vomiting
Back or jaw pain
Types of Heart Attacks
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Doctors analyze EKG patterns to help determine what type of heart attack you are having. In an ST-elevation heart attack, which requires the most aggressive treatment, the ST segment is usually above the baseline (middle). In a non-ST-elevation heart attack, the ST segment is below baseline (right). However, EKG patterns are seldom so clear, and blood tests and other tests will confirm a diagnosis.
The increased risk of heart attack that comes with the use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) to treat arthritis pain is directly related to the specific pain-causing molecule they act against, a new study finds.
"We found a significant correlation between the degree of inhibition in vitro [in the laboratory] of whole blood cox-2, but not whole blood cox-1," said the report by researchers in Spain and Italy.
Cox-1 and cox-2 are different forms of cyclooxygenase, an enzyme whose activity increases inflammation and pain. Older NSAIDs, such as ibuprofen and naproxen, act primarily against cox-1. A newer generation of NSAIDs that act against cox-2 reduce the gastrointestinal bleeding, pain and inflammation that are major side effects of the cox-1 drugs, but they have been found to increase the risk of heart attack and stroke.
Three cox-2 inhibitor NSAIDs have been marketed in the United States. Two of them -- Bextra and Vioxx -- were withdrawn from the market earlier this decade because of their association with an increased risk of heart attack and stroke. A third cox-2, Celebrex, remains available, but with a label warning of cardiovascular risk.
All NSAIDs increase heart risk, according to the new study of 8,852 people who had heart attacks. And the increase was related to both the dosage and the length of time the drugs were taken. But the risk was increased by 18 percent by drugs acting primarily against cox-1, compared to a 60 percent increase for those with the greatest cox-2 activity.
The findings were published in the Nov. 11 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
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Doctors analyze EKG patterns to help determine what type of heart attack you are having. In an ST-elevation heart attack, which requires the most aggressive treatment, the ST segment is usually above the baseline (middle). In a non-ST-elevation heart attack, the ST segment is below baseline (right). However, EKG patterns are seldom so clear, and blood tests and other tests will confirm a diagnosis.
The increased risk of heart attack that comes with the use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) to treat arthritis pain is directly related to the specific pain-causing molecule they act against, a new study finds.
"We found a significant correlation between the degree of inhibition in vitro [in the laboratory] of whole blood cox-2, but not whole blood cox-1," said the report by researchers in Spain and Italy.
Cox-1 and cox-2 are different forms of cyclooxygenase, an enzyme whose activity increases inflammation and pain. Older NSAIDs, such as ibuprofen and naproxen, act primarily against cox-1. A newer generation of NSAIDs that act against cox-2 reduce the gastrointestinal bleeding, pain and inflammation that are major side effects of the cox-1 drugs, but they have been found to increase the risk of heart attack and stroke.
Three cox-2 inhibitor NSAIDs have been marketed in the United States. Two of them -- Bextra and Vioxx -- were withdrawn from the market earlier this decade because of their association with an increased risk of heart attack and stroke. A third cox-2, Celebrex, remains available, but with a label warning of cardiovascular risk.
All NSAIDs increase heart risk, according to the new study of 8,852 people who had heart attacks. And the increase was related to both the dosage and the length of time the drugs were taken. But the risk was increased by 18 percent by drugs acting primarily against cox-1, compared to a 60 percent increase for those with the greatest cox-2 activity.
The findings were published in the Nov. 11 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
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