heart attack

American

noun

Pathology.

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.

heart attack British

noun

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

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

heart attack Scientific

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.
Also called myocardial infarction

heart attack Cultural

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.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

heart attacks

plural

Etymology

Origin of heart attack

First recorded in 1925–30

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

heart attack

Mark Green, global CEO of Droga5 and co-founder of Australian agency The Monkeys, died of a heart attack.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 2, 2026

Such an approach could eventually make Alzheimer's prevention more similar to cardiovascular prevention, where cholesterol measurements help doctors estimate future heart attack risk and determine who may benefit from treatment.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 31, 2026

That is how far residents of Fredonia, a small town in the central US state of Kansas, must travel for cardiology care in the event of a heart attack or stroke.

From Barron's ● Oct. 30, 2026

But two similar "crash calls" have already come in by ambulance, as well as someone who walked into an already-full reception having a suspected heart attack.

From BBC ● Oct. 25, 2026