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Acute Myocardial Infarction essay

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Acute Myocardial Infarction essay
Fundamentals of a Heart Attack
Holli Blohm
Instructor Lynette Love

Introduction Heart attacks , we have all seen them played out on our favorite drama shows but these shows do not address the real severity of an actual heart attack despite the great acting skills portrayed . A heart attack can also be known as a myocardial infarction (MI), acute myocardial infarction (AMI), acute coronary syndrome, coronary thrombosis, or coronary occlusion, either way it is not good news. Over 1.2 million people in American have heart attacks with many of them resulting in death (Heart attack, 2011). A heart attack is a serious life threatening condition that needs to be treated quickly.
Risk factors & Etiology
One of the main causes of a MI is Coronary Artery Disease. The buildup of cholesterol over time in the coronary arteries causes the lumen to become narrowed and hardened which promote the formation of plaques to develop (Heart attack, 2011). The formation of plaques throughout the body is termed atherosclerosis and when it specifically occurs to the heart it is classified as Coronary Artery disease. There are nine identifiable risk factors that have been known to contribute to a Coronary Artery Disease (Heart attack, 2011). The contributors include: * Hyperlipidemia- high fat diets or genetics * Diabetes Mellitus- increases the risk of MI because it increases the rate of atherosclerotic progression (Heart attack, 2011) * Hypertension * Tobacco use- The components of tobacco damage blood vessel walls and the body responses with atherosclerotic formation of platelets (Heart attack, 2011). * Male gender * Family history * Older age * Stress * Obesity
Another less common cause of an MI is a Coronary Artery Spasm (Heart attack, 2011) . It is when there is severe tightening of a coronary artery. The spasm blocks blood flow throughout the heart. This can happen to arteries that are not affected by atherosclerosis (Heart attack,


References: Cardiac Emergencies: Assessment, Angina, and MI Course - Nursing Continuing Education (CE) - Nurse CE - CEUFast.com. (n.d.). CEUFast.com - The Fastest, Easiest way to fulfill your Nursing Continuing Education Contact Hours online!. Retrieved April 3, 2013, from http://www.ceufast.com/courses/viewcourse.asp?id=143 Edmunds, L. (2012). Improving wellbeing with cardiac rehabilitation. Nursing Times, 108(40), 17-19. Heart attack - MayoClinic.com. (2011,November 17). Mayo Clinic. Retrieved April 1, 2013, from http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/heart-attack/DS00094 Heart Attack l Myocardial Infarction - Cedars-Sinai. (n.d.). Cedars-Sinai – A Non-Profit Hospital in Los Angeles. Retrieved April 4, 2013, from http://www.cedars-sinai.edu/Patients/Health-Conditions/Heart-Attack-l-Myocardial-Infarction.aspx Symptoms and Diagnosis of Heart Attack. (2013, March 22.). www.heart.org. Retrieved April 1, 2013, from http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/Conditions/HeartAttack/SymptomsDiagnosisofHeartAttack/Symptoms-and-Diagnosis-of-Heart-Attack_UCM_002041_Article.jsp What Are the Benefits and Risks of Cardiac Rehabilitation? - NHLBI, NIH. (2012, February 22). NIH Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. Retrieved April 1, 2013, from http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/rehab/benefitsrisks.html
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