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The Causes and Treatments of a Myocardial Infarction

Myocardial Infarction, mostly known as a Heart Attack is prevalent in all societies, but what causes it?

Introduction



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Myocardial Infarction is a condition that is caused by the lack of blood supply to the heart, often associated with Coronary Heart Disease. It highlights the global prevalence of ST elevation Myocardial Infarction (STEMI) which occurs from the occlusion of one, if not more, coronary arteries that supply heart muscles with blood, and it is diagnosed through methods such as electrocardiograms and blood tests. 

This article emphasizes the significance of preventative measures and risk factors that can increase one’s chance of getting a Myocardial Infarction. It further explores various treatment options. Overall, this Article underscores the importance of early diagnosis, prevention and effective treatment to address this critical cardiovascular condition worldwide. 


What is Myocardial Infarction?

Myocardial Infarction can be considered a Cardiovascular disease as Coronary Heart Disease (CHD) is often caused by decreased myocardial perfusion that causes Myocardial infarction (according to the National Centre for Biotechnology Information, NCBI, 2023). Myocardial Infarction occurs due to the narrowing of arteries or other interruptions that interfere with the flow of blood. Without a constant supply of blood and oxygen through the whole body as well as capillaries in the heart, the heart muscle cells are in threat of damage. More than 3 million individuals worldwide tend to develop STE-MI - which stands for ST elevation Myocardial Infarction - each year (BMC Cardiovascular Disorders, 2023), and about 805,000 people in the US tend to develop heart attacks. 


The Diagnosis of a Myocardial Infarction


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Myocardial Infarction is diagnosed with an ECG (Electrocardiogram). This condition is spotted because the ST segment is elevated. Myocardial Infarction can also be diagnosed with a physical examination or laboratory blood tests which can show if the heart muscle cells are damaged. Many other ways of diagnosis include medical history, physical examinations and more. 


Risk Factors and Prevention


Heart attacks occur daily throughout the world, so how can it be prevented? A heart attack can be prevented by taking precautions and changing one’s lifestyle. There are many risk factors to Myocardial Infarction such as age, high blood pressure, high cholesterol levels, obesity, diabetes, family history, smoking, and more. These risk factors need to be taken into consideration in order to prevent, or lower the risk of attracting Myocardial Infarction in the near future. Lowering the risk factors plays a big impact on your health and it can help decrease your chances of a heart attack. Therefore, one can alter their diet to what a doctor specifies, or take on a new exercise routine, stop smoking and monitor their blood pressure to make sure it remains at a good level. Obesity is one of the biggest risk factors, therefore losing weight will help prevent heart attacks, as well as taking medication to get high cholesterol and or blood pressure under control. 


Treatment for a Myocardial Infarction

However, these preventative methods do not lower the risks of heart attacks completely. One can still get a heart attack. In hospitals, there are many treatments for Myocardial Infarction, including both medication, which is quite a simple way to treat heart attacks, or surgery, which is an intensive method of care. A drug used to treat MI includes a clot-dissolving medication, otherwise known as Thrombolysis. This can often reduce the amount of cholesterol build-up in the artery and capillaries, reducing the risk of heart attacks and coronary heart diseases. Furthermore, another medication used to treat or reduce the chances of a heart attack are Beta Blockers which decreases the heart rate and makes the heart beat slower, therefore reducing blood pressure. Whilst medications and drugs reduce the risk to a certain degree and are a safer way of treatment, it is often difficult for patients to take these drugs regularly - as one could forget to take their medication. By simply forgetting to take their medication, the atheroma (build-up of fatty acids and cholesterol) in the artery grows in size and heart muscles must exert a greater force to push blood through the artery, which may result in an aneurysm (balloon-bulge to the artery). Therefore surgeries are a much better form of long-term treatment. 


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For surgical treatments, this includes Balloon angioplasty (PCI), which is a procedure that opens narrowed / blocked arteries by using a small balloon catheter and inserting it into the vessel to widen it, which improves blood flow to the heart. Sometimes, a heart attack is caused by a diseased valve as the heart would not be able to pump out enough oxygenated blood as one-way flow is not maintained. This is treated by replacing the diseased valve with a healthy one with Mechanical OR Biological heart valve surgery. 

Another form of surgical treatment for Myocardial Infarction is a Bypass surgery which improves the blood flow to and from the heart by creating new pathways with veins for the blood to flow to the heart. It is important to consider, however, that surgical methods are quite dangerous as they involve open-heart surgery. This can increase the risk of infections. In terms of heart valve surgeries, specifically with biological valves which often come from pigs, this can sometimes lead to rejection from the body, therefore patients would have to take immunosuppressant drugs which could increase one’s risk of contracting other diseases. 


Conclusion:

Myocardial Infarction is one of the most critical cardiovascular conditions and is increasingly common world-wide. Myocardial infarction has led to almost 1 million deaths in the US alone, (NCBI 2022), therefore, preventative methods should be known and spread worldwide. Prevention is a central theme, with a focus on reducing risk factors such as obesity, high blood pressure and high cholesterol levels. As our understanding on heart attacks continues to evolve, advancements in treatment methods are being made which holds a promise for all future generations that will hopefully reduce the burden of heart diseases worldwide. 


Written by Sara Salman


References: 


Oren J., Micheal Gavin, Shamai A. Grossman. (2022) Acute Myocardial Infarction. National Centre for Biotechnology Information. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK459269/#:~:text=Acute%20myocardial%20infarctions%20are%20one,in%20the%20United%20States%20annually.

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