Complications of Myocardial Infarction.

Having   suffered a heart attack and  treated  it, is not the end of the story. There may be Effects of heart attack ,   some   of which can be life threatening.  The complications of heart attack will depend on   two things:

• The portion of the heart where the heart attack or myocardial infarct occurred.
• The extent of damage to  the heart muscle.

Complications of Myocardial Infarction.

Some heart attack complications arise early after the heart attack while some complications come a little late.  We   shall discuss below and see what those problems of heart attack are.

1.     Arrhythmias or irregular beating of the heart.

2.     Heart failure

3.     Rupture of the heart wall and  the septum

4.     Pericarditis

5.     Formation of clot.

6.     Defect in the heart valve

1) Arrhythmias:

The normal beat of the heart follows a particular pattern.

• The upper chambers, called the Atria,  contract to push the blood into the lower chambers, called the Ventricles,  which relax to admit the blood.
• The lower chambers then contract to pump out the blood to the lungs and  various parts of the body.
• At the same time, the upper chambers have relaxed to admit the blood from the lungs and the blood returning from the rest of the body.

How This happens? This is brought about by an electrical impulse which follows a particular pathway within the walls of the  heart  and  makes the heart contract in the normal fashion.

In a patient of heart attack, since there is damage to  the  part of the heart wall, the path of the electrical impulse is disturbed and the normal beating of the heart may be altered. The heart beats in an abnormal way and this abnormal beating of the heart is called arrhythmia.

Either the upper chambers may beat abnormally in which case it is called Atrial fibrillation, and abnormal   beat of the lower chambers is called Ventricular fibrillation. Atrial fibrillation is mild and treated with medicines, while Ventricular fibrillation is life threatening and is a major cause of post heart attack deaths.

Arrhythmias can be treated by

• Medicines
• Electric shocks to the chest to stimulate the impulse
• Inserting a pace maker in the heart.

2) Heart failure:

This occurs in patients whose left ventricular heart wall is damaged more than 30%. The heart is unable to pump blood effectively and  the  patient  suffers from Congestive Cardiac failure (CCF).

3) Rupture of the Heart  wall :

As a result of the weakened heart wall, a tear or rupture may occur in the wall of the heart as a result of which, the blood may spill into the sac covering the heart (Pericardium).  A rupture may also occur in the septal wall in which case the blood between the right and left chambers may intermingle. However, these complications are rare.

4) Pericarditis:

This is an inflammation of the pericardial sac which covers the heart. This may occur shortly after an attack and the pericardial sac gets filled with fluid. This can be treated with medicines.

5) Clot formation.

Formation of clot may occur especially when the wall of the left ventricle is damaged. The blood flow is slower than normal and this may contribute towards clot formation. Secondly, prolonged bed rest and inactivity may give rise to clot formation in the deep veins of the legs. These clots then migrate to the lungs through the heart, and may result in pulmonary embolism which  is  life  threatening.

6) Heart valvular damage.

Heart valve damage is also found in patients of attack and this is usually in the form of incontinence of these one way valves, leading to valvular leaks.

7) Repeat Heart attack.

About 20% of  heart attack patients may suffer another attack within six weeks of the previous one. The attack may occur in the same area or another one. Aggressive management is urgently required.

Knowledge of these heart attack complications or heart attack effects will make you religiously stick to the advice given by your physician, in case you are a heart attack patient. In case you are not, it will be helpful to arm yourself with the knowledge of  the symptoms of heart attack to keep yourself well informed.

Related posts:

1. Symptoms of a Heart Attack.
2. Heart Attack|Myocardial Infarction.
3. What Causes a Heart Attack.
4. Life after a Heart Attack.
5. How to Prevent a Heart Attack.
6. Risk factors contributing to a Heart Attack.
7. Treatment of Heart Attack.
8. High Blood Pressure Complications|Hypertension Complications.