More than one million Americans have heart attacks each year. A heart attack, or myocardial infarction (MI), is permanent damage to the heart muscle. "Myo" means muscle, "cardial" refers to the heart, and "infarction" means death of tissue due to lack of blood supply.
Having a heart attack is frightening for both the patient and their family. By learning about what is a heart attack and how it is treated, you can become an educated and active member of your healthcare team.
