Cardiovascular emergency
A sudden, life-threatening heart condition requiring urgent medical care.
A cardiovascular emergency is a sudden, life-threatening condition involving the heart or blood vessels, most commonly exemplified by a myocardial infarction (MI), or heart attack. This occurs when blood flow decreases or stops in a coronary artery, causing tissue death to the heart muscle, and requires immediate medical intervention to restore blood flow and prevent complications such as heart failure, cardiac arrest, or death.
- definition
- Acute condition involving heart or blood vessels requiring urgent care
- most common type
- Myocardial infarction (heart attack)
- primary symptom
- Retrosternal chest pain radiating to left shoulder, arm, or jaw
- key diagnostic tests
- Electrocardiogram (ECG), blood troponin test, coronary angiography
- immediate treatment
- Aspirin
- global incidence (2015)
- About 15.9 million myocardial infarctions
- US annual incidence
- About one million MIs per year
Lore & Background
The most common cardiovascular emergency is a myocardial infarction, which occurs when blood flow decreases or stops in a coronary artery, causing infarction of heart muscle. The typical symptom is retrosternal chest pain that may radiate to the left shoulder, arm, or jaw, sometimes feeling like heartburn. Other symptoms include shortness of breath, nausea, feeling faint, cold sweat, and decreased consciousness. Women more often present without chest pain, instead having neck pain, arm pain, or fatigue. Among those over 70–75 years old, about 5% have had an MI with little or no history of symptoms.
Reader's Guide
Cardiovascular emergencies, particularly myocardial infarction, represent a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. The source article notes that in 2015, about 15.9 million myocardial infarctions occurred globally, with more than 3 million being ST elevation MIs and more than 4 million being non-ST elevation MIs. In the United States, about one million people have an MI each year, and in 2011, an MI was one of the top five most expensive conditions during inpatient hospitalizations, costing about $11.5 billion for 612,000 stays. The risk of death in those who have had a STEMI in the developed world is about 10%. Treatment is time-critical, with aspirin as immediate therapy, and interventions such as percutaneous coronary intervention or thrombolysis for STEMI. Long-term management includes lifestyle modifications, aspirin, beta blockers, and statins. Rates of MI for a given age have decreased globally between 1990 and 2010, but the condition remains a significant public health burden.
Did You Know?
- Most MIs occur due to coronary artery disease, with complete blockage of a coronary artery caused by rupture of an atherosclerotic plaque as the usual underlying mechanism.
- Silent myocardial infarctions, which happen without any symptoms, represent between 22 and 64% of all infarctions and are more common in the elderly and those with diabetes.
- STEMIs occur about twice as often in men as women.
- An MI is different from cardiac arrest, but can cause it; it is also distinct from heart failure, though an MI may lead to heart failure.
More in Medical emergencies 1-24
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