Okuzeka
Emergency Medicine & First Aid vocabulary · Medical Emergencies

Heart attack

Meaning in emergency medicine & first aid, with examples

/ˈhɑːrt əˌtæk/nounCore term

In emergency medicine & first aid, heart attack means: Damage to part of the heart muscle when its blood supply is suddenly blocked, usually by a clot in a coronary artery; typical signs are chest pain and breathlessness.

In Turkish: kalp krizi, miyokard enfarktüsü

How it is used

The everyday word; clinicians say myocardial infarction (MI) or acute coronary syndrome, and crews talk about a suspected STEMI after an ECG. People have or suffer a heart attack. Pain may spread to the arm, jaw or back, and some patients, especially women and people with diabetes, have unusual symptoms.

Example sentences

  1. My dad has crushing chest pain. I think he's having a heart attack.

  2. He had a heart attack last year and has a stent.

Common collocations

  • have a heart attack
  • suspected heart attack
  • signs of a heart attack
  • massive heart attack
  • cardiac arrestA sudden stop in the heart's effective pumping, so that blood no longer reaches the brain and the person collapses and stops breathing normally.
  • strokeA sudden loss of brain function caused by a blocked blood vessel or bleeding in the brain, often showing as a drooping face, arm weakness or slurred speech.
  • CPRShort for cardiopulmonary resuscitation: chest compressions, often with rescue breaths, given to someone whose heart has stopped, to keep blood and oxygen moving to the brain.
  • AEDShort for automated external defibrillator: a portable device that checks the heart rhythm through pads on the chest and gives an electric shock if one is needed.

More terms: Medical Emergencies

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This page explains English vocabulary for learners. It is not medical advice.