If you had a heart attack, you will need to stay in the hospital, possibly in the intensive care unit (ICU). You will be hooked up to an ECG machine, so the health care team can look at how your heart is beating.
Life-threatening arrhythmias (irregular heartbeats) are the leading cause of death in the first few hours of a heart attack. These arrythmias may be treated with medications or electrical cardioverson/defibrillation.
The health care team will give you oxygen, even if your blood oxygen levels are normal. This is done so that your body tissues have easy access to oxygen, so your heart doesn't have to work as hard.
An intravenous line (IV) will be placed into one of your veins. Medicines and fluids pass through this IV. You may need a tube inserted into your bladder (urinary catheter) so that doctors can see how much fluid your body removes.
THROMBOLYTIC THERAPY
Depending on the results of the ECG, certain patients may be given blood thinners within 12 hours of when they first felt the chest pain. This is called thrombolytic therapy. The medicine is first given through an IV. Blood thinners taken by mouth may be prescribed later to prevent clots from forming.
Thrombolytic therapy is not appropriate for people who have:
Bleeding inside their head (intracranial hemorrhage)
Brain abnormalities such as tumors or blood vessel malformations
Stroke within the past 3 months (or possibly longer)
Head injury within the past 3 months
Thrombolytic therapy is extremely dangerous in women who are pregnant or people who have:
A history of using blood thinners such as coumadin
Had major surgery or a major injury within the past 3 weeks
Had internal bleeding within the past 2-4 weeks
Peptic ulcer disease
Severe high blood pressure
OTHER MEDICINES FOR HEART ATTACKS
Many different medicines are used to treat and prevent heart attacks. Nitroglycerin helps reduce chest pain. You may also receive strong medicines to relieve pain.
Antiplatelet medicines help prevent clot formation. Aspirin is an antiplatelet drug. Another one is clopidogrel (Plavix).
Beta-blockers (such as metoprolol, atenolol, and propranolol) help reduce the strain on the heart and lower blood pressure.
ACE inhibitors (such as ramipril, lisinopril, enalapril, or captopril) are used to prevent heart failure and lower blood pressure.
Lipid-lowering medications, especially statins (such as lovastatin, pravastatin, simvastatin, atorvastatin, and rosuvastatin) reduce blood cholesterol levels to prevent plaque from increasing. They may reduce the risk of another heart attack or death.
SURGERY AND OTHER PROCEDURES
A procedure called angioplasty may be needed to open blocked coronary arteries. This procedure may be used instead of thrombolytic therapy.
Angioplasty with stenting can be a life-saving procedure if you are having a heart attack. However, for people with coronary heart disease, recent studies show that medicine and angioplasty with stenting have equal benefits. Angioplasty with stenting does not help you live longer, but it can reduce angina or other symptoms of coronary artery disease.
Some people may need emergency coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG). This procedure is also called "open heart surgery." The surgeon takes either a vein or artery from another location in your body and uses it to bypass the blocked coronary artery.In-Depth Treatment »
