Myocardial infarction occurs when the heart muscle dies because it does not receive enough oxygen and prevents blood from flowing properly to the heart. This blockage occurs when the coronary artery becomes blocked by a blood clot. The coronary artery (blood vessel) transmits blood and oxygen to the heart muscle. Blockage of the heart muscle interrupts its supply, causing injury. This damages the heart muscles, causes chest pain and a feeling of chest pressure. If the heart is not repaired within 20 to 40 minutes, serious consequences may occur and the coronary artery cannot be treated. The muscles take 6-8 hours to die, during this time the heart attack completes and leaves scar tissue on the heart muscle forever. Myocardial infarction is also known as heart attack or MI. (“Heart Attack: Read about signs and symptoms.”) The main cause of heart attack is atherosclerosis, which gradually develops by storing cholesterol in the walls of the arteries. The cholesterol plaque (deposit) produces a hardening of the internal canal, which is the lumen of the artery. Atherosclerotic arteries cannot supply enough blood to normal parts of the body. Coronary atherosclerosis, angina on exertion and at rest can lead to heart attacks. High blood pressure, high cholesterol, cigarette smoking, and diabetes mellitus can increase the risk of atherosclerosis and lead to heart attacks. (“Symptoms and Causes of Heart Attack) The main symptoms of myocardial infarction are pain or pressure in the chest, but there are some others that myocardial infarction patients may experience; feeling of compression in the chest, pain in the jaw, headache headache, shortness of breath, nausea, sweating, heartburn, indigestion ("Heart attack symptoms, causes, treatment - What are the symptoms of a heart attack?) Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Some of the lifestyle choices that can reduce the risk of having heart attacks are that smokers should stop smoking, overweight people should lose weight otherwise it becomes more difficult to pump blood in the body. Smoking is the most harmful factor in heart attacks because it increases blood pressure. People should also start adding regular exercise to their routine, for adults at least 2 hours and 30 minutes. Exercise will also reduce weight and keep blood pressure low. Some of the exercises that are beneficial in preventing heart attacks are walking, swimming and cycling. Eating fewer fatty foods and eating whole grains, lots of fresh fruit and vegetables is good for your heart. Meat patties, sausages, butter, ghee, cream, hard cheese, and foods containing coconut or palm oil are high in saturated fats that should be avoided to prevent heart attacks. People who drink alcohol should reduce their consumption, because it affects half of the heart. Following the recommendation of drinking alcohol 3-4 units per day for men, 2-3 units per day for women prevents heart attacks. ("Heart Attack - Prevention.") Myocardial infarction can only be diagnosed by electrocardiogram and blood tests. Electrocardiogram (ECG) is like a non-invasive test that shows the condition of the heart through electrical activity. If you observe abnormalities in electrical activity, it means that a heart attack has occurred, you can identify which area of ​​the heart muscle cannot receive excess oxygen or which muscles have died. By looking at the characteristics of the electrocardiogram, identify heart conditions.