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Acute coronary syndromes and myocardial infarction

13 articles

Alteplase

Alteplase (Activase, Actilyse) is a recombinant tissue plasminogen activator thrombolytic for acute ischemic stroke, myocardial infarction, massive pulmonary embolism, and catheter occlusion; FDA approved 1987, 0.9 mg/kg stroke dosing, main risk bleeding.

Cardiogenic shock

Cardiogenic shock is life-threatening end-organ hypoperfusion from primary cardiac dysfunction, staged A-E by the SCAI classification. Incidence 3-10% of AMI, mortality 40-50%; culprit-vessel revascularization improves survival, while IABP and routine VA-ECMO do not.

Coronary thrombosis

Coronary thrombosis is the formation of a blood clot inside a coronary artery, usually on a ruptured plaque, and the immediate cause of most heart attacks.

Eptifibatide

Eptifibatide (brand name Integrilin) is a synthetic cyclic heptapeptide drug that inhibits platelet aggregation by blocking the glycoprotein IIb/IIIa receptor, approved in 1998 for acute coronary syndrome and coronary intervention.

Myocardial infarction

Myocardial infarction (MI, heart attack): death of heart muscle from sudden loss of coronary blood flow, diagnosed by rising/falling cardiac troponin above the 99th percentile URL plus ischemia evidence; classified STEMI/NSTEMI and types 1-5 under the Universal Definition.

Non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction

Non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) is a heart attack in which troponin confirms heart-muscle necrosis but the ECG lacks the persistent ST elevation that defines STEMI, usually from partial coronary occlusion.

Pregnancy-associated spontaneous coronary artery dissection

Pregnancy-associated spontaneous coronary artery dissection (P-SCAD, PASCAD) is a non-atherosclerotic coronary artery tear during pregnancy or postpartum, the leading cause of pregnancy-related myocardial infarction, managed mainly conservatively.

Reperfusion injury

Reperfusion injury, or ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI), is paradoxical tissue damage caused by restoring blood flow after ischemia, affecting heart, brain, kidney, and gut; mechanisms include reactive oxygen species, calcium overload, and microvascular dysfunction.

Silent myocardial infarction

A silent myocardial infarction is a heart attack that causes no symptoms or only vague ones, recognized later on a routine ECG or imaging study.

ST-elevation myocardial infarction

ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) is a heart attack producing ST-segment elevation on the ECG, making up 25% to 40% of US heart attacks and requiring reperfusion within 12 hours.

Subsequent myocardial infarction

Subsequent myocardial infarction (ICD-11 BA42; ICD-10 I22) is a heart attack occurring within 28 days of a previous one, clinically called re-infarction; diagnosed by recurrent ST elevation, new Q waves, or a >20% troponin rise.

Unstable angina

Unstable angina (also accelerating or crescendo angina): sudden chest pain at rest from transient myocardial ischemia with plaque rupture and thrombosis but no troponin rise; an ACS emergency treated with antiplatelets, anticoagulation, and revascularization, carrying lower mortality than NSTEMI but similar future MI risk.

Ventricular aneurysm

Ventricular aneurysm, including left ventricular aneurysm (LVA) and pseudoaneurysm, is a bulging of the heart ventricle wall after transmural myocardial infarction; treated mainly by surgical ventricular reconstruction, incidence fell to about 0.2% of acute MI in the reperfusion era.