How is a Heart Attack Treated?

A heart attack is a medical emergency. Delaying treatment can mean lasting damage to your heart or even death. The sooner treatment begins, the better your chances of recovering. Your treatment may begin in the ambulance or in the emergency room and continue in a special area called a coronary care unit or CCU.

In the Hospital

If you are having a heart attack, doctors will:

• Work quickly to restore blood flow to the heart
  
• Continuously monitor your vital signs to detect and treat complications
  

Restoring blood flow to the heart is vital to prevent or limit damage to the heart muscle and to prevent another heart attack. The main treatments are the use of thrombolytic ("clot-busting") drugs and procedures such as angioplasty.

• Thrombolytic drugs ("clot-busters") are used to dissolve blood clots that are blocking blood flow to the heart. When given soon after a heart attack begins, these drugs can limit or prevent permanent damage to the heart. To be most effective, they need to be given within 1 hour after of the start of heart attack symptoms.
• Angioplasty procedures are used to open blocked or narrowed coronary arteries. A stent, which is a tiny metal mesh tube, may be placed in the artery to help keep it open.
• Coronary artery bypass surgery uses arteries or veins from other areas in your body to bypass your blocked coronary arteries.

The CCU is specially equipped with monitors that continuously measure your vital signs. Those that can show signs of complications include:

• EKG, which detects any heart rhythm (Arrhythmia) or functional problems
• Blood pressure
• Pulse oximetry, which measures the amount of oxygen in the blood and provides an early warning sign of a low level of oxygen in the blood.

Medications used in treating heart attacks include:

• Beta blockers to decrease the workload on your heart by slowing your heart rate. This makes your heart beat with less force and lowers your blood pressure. Some beta blockers are also used to relieve Angina ( Chest pain ) and in heart attack patients to help prevent additional Heart Attacks. They are also used to correct irregular heartbeat.