What is the medical term for a heart attack?

The medical term for a heart attack is myocardial infarction.

A myocardial infarction occurs when blood flow to part of the heart muscle is reduced or blocked, depriving that tissue of oxygen. Without prompt restoration of blood flow, heart muscle cells begin to die. The blockage commonly develops when an atherosclerotic plaque in a coronary artery ruptures and a blood clot forms over it.

Symptoms can include chest pressure or pain, shortness of breath, nausea, sweating, dizziness and discomfort spreading to the arm, jaw, back or neck. Symptoms are not identical for everyone, and some people—especially older adults, women and people with diabetes—may have less typical symptoms. Suspected heart attacks require immediate emergency medical attention.

Myocardial infarction is not the same as cardiac arrest. A heart attack is a blood-flow problem that damages heart muscle; cardiac arrest is an electrical or mechanical failure in which the heart stops pumping effectively. A heart attack can trigger cardiac arrest, but the terms describe different emergencies. Doctors commonly classify infarctions as STEMI or NSTEMI based partly on ECG findings.