Myocardial Infarction
A myocardial infarction, a heart attack, happens when a coronary artery becomes blocked, cutting off oxygen to a section of heart muscle. Without blood flow, muscle cells begin to die within minutes. Across Asia, ischaemic heart disease is the leading cause of death in countries including India, Indonesia, and the Philippines, where urbanisation and dietary shifts have driven rates sharply upward.
Medicines used to treat Myocardial Infarction
Recognising the warning signs
Classic symptoms include central chest pain or pressure that may spread to the left arm, jaw, or back, along with shortness of breath, sweating, nausea, and light-headedness. Women and people with diabetes more often present with atypical signs, fatigue, mild discomfort, or indigestion-like feelings, which can delay recognition. Any sudden, unexplained chest pain warrants emergency care immediately; do not wait to see whether it resolves.
Medicines used in recovery
Surviving a myocardial infarction is only the first step. Long-term treatment is directed at protecting the heart, preventing clots, and reducing the load on damaged muscle. A beta-blocker such as metoprolol slows the heart rate and lowers blood pressure, reducing the workload on recovering tissue. An ACE inhibitor like lisinopril helps limit the scarring and structural changes the heart undergoes after injury. Antiplatelet therapy with clopidogrel keeps platelets from aggregating and blocking the repaired vessel again. Where there is also heart failure or fluid retention, eplerenone, a mineralocorticoid receptor blocker, reduces the risk of a second cardiac event. These agents are typically used together and continued for months to years. Browse the full heart and blood pressure range for related medicines.