If the blood supply to a portion of the heart stops, that area of the heart will no longer receive the oxygen or nutrients needed to carry out its function and will die. If it is a very small part of the heart involved, it will be able to work without it. If a large portion is damaged, irreversible damage will happen which can lead to death.

Damage to the heart muscle may be so severe that it may cause abnormal heart rhythm, called arrhythmias. Most people who are of a myocardial infraction or a heart attack do so within a few hours due to a type of arrhythmia. The heart attack victim will complain of pressure, discomfort or a squeezing sensation in the center of the chest. There may be pain radiating to the arms or the neck. There may also be shortnes

Once an M.I. has occurred and a portion of the heart muscle has died, something has to be done to prevent a piece of the obstruction from breaking off and blocking another artery somewhere else in the body. There are four main techniques to prevent this. Drugs may be given to breakdown a blood clot. The obstruction can be cleared by pushing the plaque towards the wall of the artery by inflating a balloon inside the artery (balloon angioplasty). The obstruction can be loosened up by brushing it and suctioning it out of the artery, this is called atheroectomy. The last technique is to clear the plaque out by using one of the methods mentioned and then add a device, called a stent, that will remain in the artery and hold it open.

These techniques are only temporary, because they do not fix the problem that caused the heart attack, they only slow down the process. These techniques must always be accompanied by risk factor modifications. There are many risk factors that contribute to heart attacks. Some risk factors can be modified or changed, while others can not.

• High Blood Pressure: Hypertension can lead to blood vessel damage, because the heart has to work harder to pum

Some topics in this essay:
Heart Attacks, Activity Regular, Smoking Nicotine, Male Males, Pressure Hypertension, Family History, heart attack, risk factors, heart muscle, heart attacks, physical activity, blood supply, chances heart, portion heart, chances heart attack, regular physical activity, blood supply portion, blood clot, diet fat, portion heart muscle, blood vessel damage,