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Can heart attacks "go away" on their own?
People often think they're having a heart attack (it has happened to me once or twice). Basically I'd like to know, can heart attacks "go away" and clear themselves on their own? It is my assumption that a momentary (1-2 minute) pain, or shortness of breath, is very likely NOT to be a heart attack if the symptoms go away. Is it safe to assume that one should start getting concerned only after 4-5 minutes of pain/symptoms that grow, instead of subsiding?
QUOTE: I personally see angina in any form as myocardial infarction, somewhere in the range of mild to acute because they are simply discomforts produced by the heart in stress.
>>>>>>>Myocardial infarctions literally means heart cell (myocyte) necrosis, and all scholars and the medical community agree on that meaning. As you state heart attack has been used in a general to mean anything from chest pain to cardiac arrest. QUOTE: I was told I had suffered several myocardial infarctions, which is another term (so I was told) used for heart attack. I have no necrotic tissue. It was explained to me that there is a whole range of heart attack severity, from mild heart attack to acute.
>>>>Acute indicates real-time event. Chronic is a history of condition. An MI does have a range of necrosis.
QUOTE: I personally see angina in any form as myocardial infarction, somewhere in the range of mild to acute because they are simply discomforts produced by the heart in stress.
>>>>>>I agree with that statement, but probably for a different reason, and MI is death of heart cells (myocytes). The Micro MI is a phrase that I coined and meant to describe mini, small, etc. heart cell death (MI) from angina, spasm. We know that an acute complete occlusion of a coronary artery there is simultaneous myocyte death in the area supplied by the vessel.
"There can be areas of infarction of differing ages probably caused by repeated episodes of transcient occlusion, platelet emboli or both. Also, vulnerable myocytes can be caused by the geographic variation in the incidence of myocardial calcification". All myocyte cells within geographic group have a variation of vulnerability and a spasm or angina will effect some vulnerable myocytes and other myocytes will recover with a good supply of blood oxygen...but slowly die off to some degree with each angina and/or spasm episode.
>>>>>>>Myocardial infarctions literally means heart cell (myocyte) necrosis, and all scholars and the medical community agree on that meaning. As you state heart attack has been used in a general to mean anything from chest pain to cardiac arrest. QUOTE: I was told I had suffered several myocardial infarctions, which is another term (so I was told) used for heart attack. I have no necrotic tissue. It was explained to me that there is a whole range of heart attack severity, from mild heart attack to acute.
>>>>Acute indicates real-time event. Chronic is a history of condition. An MI does have a range of necrosis.
QUOTE: I personally see angina in any form as myocardial infarction, somewhere in the range of mild to acute because they are simply discomforts produced by the heart in stress.
>>>>>>I agree with that statement, but probably for a different reason, and MI is death of heart cells (myocytes). The Micro MI is a phrase that I coined and meant to describe mini, small, etc. heart cell death (MI) from angina, spasm. We know that an acute complete occlusion of a coronary artery there is simultaneous myocyte death in the area supplied by the vessel.
"There can be areas of infarction of differing ages probably caused by repeated episodes of transcient occlusion, platelet emboli or both. Also, vulnerable myocytes can be caused by the geographic variation in the incidence of myocardial calcification". All myocyte cells within geographic group have a variation of vulnerability and a spasm or angina will effect some vulnerable myocytes and other myocytes will recover with a good supply of blood oxygen...but slowly die off to some degree with each angina and/or spasm episode.
Actually Ed angina is a sympton not a disease and is a manifestation from a variety of issues not all ending or even beginning with a heart attack. And you are also right that not all events end up with dead tissue because so many things come into play here and how fast treatment is administered, what treatment is administered, etc.I also have never been privy to the term of a micro heart attack and am assuming what is meant is that it falls below the scale of measurement which at the point would make it a non....to have a heart attack does not mean that there has to be a full blockage of either clot or plaque...it simply means that 02 or blood is impeded and it doesn't have to be completely blocked. I agree with your comment about it being a general term with a wide range and depends on an event by event situ.....your heart attack for instance would be very different then the person laying on the gurney in trauma next to you...even if you are the exact same sex, age and race so much depends on personal lifestyle, condition of the heart muscle, velocity of the blood flow and EF and this list goes on and on and on.....
This is an excellent discussion but I'm not sure the poster is around any more. No responses.
Heart attack to the general population can mean almost any severe chest pain. But doctors know differently. A medical dictionary defines myocardial infarction (aka heart attack) as: "death of a part of the myocardium from deprivation of blood.The deprived tissue becomes necrotic and requires time for healing."
Heart attack to the general population can mean almost any severe chest pain. But doctors know differently. A medical dictionary defines myocardial infarction (aka heart attack) as: "death of a part of the myocardium from deprivation of blood.The deprived tissue becomes necrotic and requires time for healing."
I'm also confused about terminology because most terms seem to be used in a very general way now by cardiologists. When I first had problems in 2007, I was told I had suffered several myocardial infarctions, which is another term (so I was told) used for heart attack. I have no necrotic tissue. It was explained to me that there is a whole range of heart attack severity, from mild heart attack to acute. So, I don't think they all cause heart tissue death. I think anyone feeling symptoms, this is just termed generally as angina, which doesn't seem to be reflective of the actual condition. It just seems an overall term used for chest pain, jaw ache, throat discomfort etc. I personally see angina in any form as myocardial infarction, somewhere in the range of mild to acute because they are simply discomforts produced by the heart in stress. I've not heard of micro heart attack, but I have heard the term mild many times describing a patient in hospital. I don't think heart attack has ever meant to mean the situation where a heart is being starved fully of oxygen in a specific area and then necrotic tissue as a result. I think it's a general term with quite a wide range.
Well. the way you explained it does seem to indicate there can be no permanent damage. But that doesn't mean there are no necrotic heart cells as a result of spasms...not enough to cause hypokinesis with one or a few spasms or angina episodes... I'm having a problem with the expression "heart attack go away"!
If I remember correctly on the subject prior there was a discussion regarding angina pectoris, and the question was raised can angina oiver a period of time cause heart damage? To be consistant, I stated there could be permanent heart damage because everytime there is a deficit of blood going to a specific area of the heart there can be some permanent damage to heart cells that are more vulnerable, and untreated angina can cause permanent damage to some cells and eventually heart failure. I based that view on all heart cells are not uniformally conditioned and some cells are more vulnerable and every time there is a lack of blood flow to a deficit of oxygen area there are necrotic heart cells. Same with the brain, TIA's equal some brain cell loss.
Doesn't it make sense that angina is a micro heart attack whether it is from a spasm or occluded vessels?
If I remember correctly on the subject prior there was a discussion regarding angina pectoris, and the question was raised can angina oiver a period of time cause heart damage? To be consistant, I stated there could be permanent heart damage because everytime there is a deficit of blood going to a specific area of the heart there can be some permanent damage to heart cells that are more vulnerable, and untreated angina can cause permanent damage to some cells and eventually heart failure. I based that view on all heart cells are not uniformally conditioned and some cells are more vulnerable and every time there is a lack of blood flow to a deficit of oxygen area there are necrotic heart cells. Same with the brain, TIA's equal some brain cell loss.
Doesn't it make sense that angina is a micro heart attack whether it is from a spasm or occluded vessels?
Point? the title of the thread says it all really, "can heart attacks go away on their own" ?
Maybe I'm missing the point? I am simply trying to establish ways this could possibly happen.
I'm sure there are many instances where people have a chronic chest pain where it goes away after a few minutes, never to return again. So there has to be a reason. There are also cases where previous MI have been seen in tests, yet there is no evidential cause for this and the patient doesn't remember it.
Maybe I'm missing the point? I am simply trying to establish ways this could possibly happen.
I'm sure there are many instances where people have a chronic chest pain where it goes away after a few minutes, never to return again. So there has to be a reason. There are also cases where previous MI have been seen in tests, yet there is no evidential cause for this and the patient doesn't remember it.
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