heart attack

noun

: an acute episode of coronary heart disease marked by the death or damage of heart muscle due to insufficient blood supply to the heart usually as a result of a coronary artery becoming blocked by a blood clot formed in response to a ruptured or torn fatty arterial deposit

Note: Symptoms of heart attack include discomfort or pain in the chest, shoulder, arm, back, neck, or jaw, shortness of breath, dizziness or lightheadedness, heartburn, nausea, excessive sweating, and extreme fatigue.

called also myocardial infarction

Examples of heart attack in a Sentence

Her chest pains turned out to be caused by a minor heart attack.

He died of a massive heart attack.

Recent Examples on the Web

After Valvo suffered a heart attack, she was replaced by alternate juror Bruce Seitz, who reportedly persuaded jurors to give the brothers life sentences versus the death penalty. —Maira Garcia, Los Angeles Times, 27 Sep. 2024

More people are able to recognize terms like blood sugar and insulin, or pinpoint signs of a stroke or heart attack. —Cleo Krejci, Journal Sentinel, 26 Sep. 2024

Paying Tribute to the Celebrities Who Have Died in 2024 Kathryn was married twice: first to Bing for 20 years, before his death in 1977 at age 74 from a heart attack, then to Maurice Sullivan from 2000 to 2010. —Jen Juneau, Peoplemag, 23 Sep. 2024

After his death at age 74 on Oct. 14, 1977, from a heart attack after a round of golf in Spain, Kathryn appeared onstage in such productions as Same Time, Next Year and Charley’s Aunt and worked alongside John Davidson and Andrea McArdle in the 1996 Broadway revival of State Fair. —Mike Barnes, The Hollywood Reporter, 21 Sep. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1836, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

heart attack

noun

: a sudden severe occurrence of damage to heart muscle caused by too little blood going to the heart usually as a result of the blocking of a coronary artery (as by a bit of fatty matter)

Medical Definition

heart attack

noun

: an acute episode of coronary heart disease marked by the death or damage of heart muscle due to insufficient blood supply to the heart muscle usually as a result of a coronary artery becoming blocked by a blood clot formed in response to a ruptured or torn fatty arterial deposit

Note: Symptoms of heart attack include discomfort or pain in the chest, shoulder, arm, back, neck, or jaw, shortness of breath, dizziness or light-headedness, heartburn, nausea, excessive sweating, and extreme fatigue.

When a patient is in the throes of a heart attack, the physician's goal is restoring adequate blood flow to the starving heart muscle as swiftly as possible.

—Harvard Medical School Health Letter

It has long been known that aspirin helps prevent blood clots … and many studies have shown that the drug can reduce the incidence of heart attacks and strokes.

—Peter Aldhous, Science

called also acute myocardial infarction, myocardial infarction

compare angina pectoris, coronary insufficiency, heart failure sense 1