General Overview

A heart attack occurs when blood flow to the heart muscle is interrupted. This deprives the heart muscle of oxygen, causing tissue damage or tissue death.

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InDepth

Find answers in our in-depth report on heart attack:

• What is a heart attack?
• What are the symptoms?
• What are the risk factors?
• How is the condition diagnosed?
• What are the treatments?
• What are the screening tests?
• How can I reduce my risk?
• What questions should I ask my healthcare provider?

Diagnostic and Surgical Procedures

• Atherectomy/angioplasty of noncoronary vessel
• Cardiac catheterization
• Coronary angioplasty
• Coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG)
• Echocardiogram
• Electrocardiogram
• Exercise stress test
• MRI
• PET scan

Preventing Heart Attacks

Practical prevention—diet helps maintain a healthy blood pressure

Hypertension affects 50 million Americans at some point in their lives. That's one in every four people in the US. The chance that your blood pressure will rise increases steadily as you grow older. Learn more about what you can do to prevent this common condition.

Reducing your risk of heart disease when you have diabetes

New studies indicate that, because diabetes can cause damage to the heart and blood vessels, controlling cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors is equally important as controlling blood glucose.

Start a regular exercise program

Exercise helps keep your body healthy and your tissue and organs working properly. In keeping your body in good working order, exercise also helps ward off many diseases such as heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis, and many others.

Preventing Heart Attacks (Continued)

Tips for reducing stress in your life

Many people feel stress often; some even feel it as a part of their daily lives. Stress has been implicated as a possible cause of—or at least exacerbating some of the symptoms of—numerous conditions, including coronary artery disease.

Weight loss: what are your options?

Being overweight is closely linked to many very serious health conditions, most particularly risk factors for heart disease and stroke. Fortunately, even modest reductions in weight can help improve these conditions.

Special Topics

Can your heart handle sex?

Love can cause heartache and even heart break. These are mere figures of speech, but what about people who have had a heart attack or heart surgery? Can someone with heart disease safely have sex?

Surviving a heart attack: timing is crucial

Is it indigestion or chest pain? Knowing the symptoms of a heart attack can literally save your life.

Related Conditions

• Atherosclerosis
• Diabetes
• Hyperlipidemia (high blood triglycerides)
• Hypertension (high blood pressure)
• Obesity
• Stroke

Natural and Alternative Treatments (By Condition)

• Angina
• Atherosclerosis and heart disease prevention
• Cardiac arrhythmia
• Congestive heart failure
• Heart attack
• High cholesterol
• High homocysteine
• High triglycerides