Acute heart attack - Acute coronary syndrome with ST elevation

Injury to heart cells caused by blockage of one or more coronary arteries, which leads to a lack of oxygen in the heart muscle cells.

There is a genetic predisposition to this disease. Other factors have also been described that further obstruct the inner lumen of the coronary vessels: smoking, diabetes, hypercholesterolaemia and hypertension.

Symptoms include oppressive chest pain that can radiate to the arms, neck, shoulders and/or back. It tends to be associated with sweating, nausea, vomiting, tenesmus and a sense of impending doom.

It is diagnosed clinically by interview, physical examination and an electrocardiogram. Rapid diagnosis is essential to start treatment early and save as many heart cells as possible.

Treatment is aimed at restoring blood flow to the occluded heart vessel as soon as possible, using antiplatelet and vasodilator drugs. Opioid analgesics are used to relieve pain, and cardiac bradycardia drugs are used to reduce the oxygen consumption of heart muscle cells.

Cardiac catheterisation, which uses a catheter to make the artery permeable from the inside, can be very useful in the first few minutes of occlusion before anticoagulation.

If you have severe chest pain, see your doctor immediately to rule out this condition.