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

They also had a 16% higher risk of cardiovascular disease, including heart attack, stroke, and angina.

From Science Daily • Jun. 18, 2026

There was also tragedy in their family life -- in 2016 their eldest daughter, Laurence, died aged 58, after a heart attack and having suffered with anorexia since 1974.

From Barron's • Jun. 6, 2026

Bill Heym, who is in the Novartis trial, didn’t find out that he had high levels of the particle until he suffered a heart attack.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 27, 2026

Asked by an audience member whether she would go into the jungle she said: "When you see the snakes around their heads, I think I would have a heart attack."

From BBC • May 25, 2026

Goldman wasn’t much interested in physics, but it struck him that some of the same mathematical principles the group was using might be helpful in deciding whether someone was suffering a heart attack.

From "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell

Related Words

• cardiovascular disease
• congestive heart failure