heart attack

American  

noun

Pathology.

heart attacks plural

1. damage to an area of heart muscle that is deprived of oxygen, usually due to blockage of a diseased coronary artery, typically accompanied by chest pain radiating down one or both arms, the severity of the attack varying with the extent and location of the damage; myocardial infarction.

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heart attack British  

noun

1. any sudden severe instance of abnormal heart functioning, esp coronary thrombosis

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heart attack Scientific  

1. Necrosis of a region of the heart muscle caused by an interruption in the supply of blood to the heart, usually as a result of occlusion of a coronary artery resulting from coronary artery disease. Symptoms typically include sudden, crushing chest pain, nausea, and sweating. Characteristic changes in the electrocardiogram are used to diagnose heart attacks.

2. Also called myocardial infarction

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heart attack Cultural  

1. An episode of heart failure or the stopping of normal heart function; a coronary thrombosis. Symptoms of a heart attack include pain and pressure in the chest, which often spread to the shoulder, arm, and neck. Today, physicians tend to define heart attack in terms of muscle damage to the heart caused by oxygen deprivation.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• heart attacks
  plural

Etymology

Origin of heart attack

First recorded in 1925–30

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

heart attack

After her mother died from cancer and their father died from a heart attack, Darline Graham went to live with an aunt and uncle.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 13, 2026

Their mother died when Graham was 20 and his sister was 12, followed less than two years later by their father's death from a heart attack.

From Barron's ● Jul. 13, 2026

The senator’s own father died of a heart attack at 69 when Graham was 22 — pointing to a family history of cardiovascular disease that likely made Saturday night’s outcome tragic, but not inexplicable.

From Salon ● Jul. 13, 2026

Reyes said her mother, whom she did not name, had died from a heart attack caused by the shock and impact of the earthquakes.

From BBC ● Jun. 26, 2026

“Well, first, I fell down and Bernard almost gave himself a heart attack laughing at me.”

From "A Good Kind of Trouble" by Lisa Moore Ramée

Related Words

• cardiovascular disease
• congestive heart failure