MI/ Heart Attack

Question 1

Results from ischemia_> _______ minutes and causes _______ damage to the cardiac ______

Answer 1

• 20 min
• irreversible
• MM

Question 2

Involves complete occlusion of coronary artery which may be a result of:

Answer 2

• Fixed atheroclerotic lesion
• Thrombus: blood clot that forms in a vein & or plaque
• Embolism: anything that travels through a blood vessel until it finds a vessel that is too small to let pass
• Coronary spasm: constriction of artery mm wall that partially or completely prevents blood flow to the heart.

Question 3

Symtoms:

Answer 3

• Mild to severe prolonged substernal pain which might radiate into the L arm, neck, jaw… Not relieved by rest… often described as pressure or squeezing sensation in the chest
• Diaphoresis: sweating
• Nausea or Vomiting
• Weakness/feeling of fatigue
• Brady or tachycardia
• Arrhythmias
• L-sided heart failure: acute pulmonary edema (identifying signs=crackles (heard during inhalation), cough, tachypenea (rapid breathing), & edema)
• Dyspnea: SOB & or shallow breathing
• Catecholamine: epinephrine/norepinephrine responses: coolness of extremities, perspiration, anxiety, restlessness
• Syncope (fainting)
• Pallor (pale color skin) or gray facial coloring

Question 4

Post MI healing:

Answer 4

Stability of the wound/injury is established within the first 4-6 weeks

Question 5

Diagnostic tests to confirm MI:

Answer 5

-ECG or EKG: electrocardiogram ST segment depression indicates ischemia
-Cardiac cauterization to locate and identify the lesion
-Lab tests/results:
~increased WBC
~INcreased SED rate-reveals inflammatory activity in your body ( erythrocyte sedimentation rate
~Increased serial enzyme levels damage to heart mm cells from a MI leak proteins into blood stream (specific cardiac enzymes i.e CPK, CK) ; appear 4 HOURS post infarct and will peak by 36 HOURS
-Echocardiography: sonogram of the heart: doppler US creates images of heart
-CAT or MRI