heart attack
nounDefinition of heart attack
: 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 light-headedness, 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
These could include heart attacks, strokes and heart disease caused by clogged arteries that required surgical reopening. — Dennis Thompson, CBS News, "Could napping help you live longer?," 10 Sep. 2019 Alberto Petit, 65, died of a heart attack on Thursday in Venezuela, prompting Yusmeiro to spend two days away from the team while sorting out his next move. — Jeff Faraudo, The Mercury News, "A’s reliever Yusmeiro Petit will honor his father in appropriate way," 8 Sep. 2019 When William died of a heart attack in 1998, Richard arranged for his brother’s funeral and then took over. — Paul Schwartzman, Washington Post, "At center of changing DC, requiem for a funeral home that catered to blacks," 6 Sep. 2019 Numerous studies have shown that oral health problems can significantly increase the risk for diabetes, heart attacks, strokes, and other potentially life-threatening conditions. — Bobbi Dempsey, Harper's magazine, "Bite Marks," 19 Aug. 2019 The Institute of Medicine reported that the long-term effects of sleep deprivation can cause serious health consequences such as hypertension, diabetes, heart attack, stroke, and depression. — Shahab Haghayegh, Quartzy, "The science of why a warm bath before bed helps you sleep," 14 Aug. 2019 The Institute of Medicine reported that the long-term effects of sleep deprivation can cause serious health consequences such as hypertension, diabetes, heart attack, stroke and depression. — Shahab Haghayegh, The Conversation, "Want better sleep? Try a warm bath or shower 1-2 hours before bedtime, study suggests," 13 Aug. 2019 Of the 10 deaths, five were from cancer, two from heart attacks, one from leukemia, one from a stroke, and one from a prescription drug overdose, Gautz said. — Paul Egan, Detroit Free Press, "State agency does about-face on why women's prison is getting $488,000 fix," 15 July 2019 There were ulcers, heart attacks, heavy drinking, chain smoking, abandoned families, divorces and the ever-looming threat that the Soviet Union would steal the prize. — Samantha Masunaga, latimes.com, "Could the Apollo 11 moon landing be duplicated today? ‘Lots of luck with that’," 14 July 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'heart attack.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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