A while back I wrote about various ways a heart’s function can become compromised. Think of the heart as having electricity, carpentry and plumbing. Today’s post focuses on the plumbing. Heart attacks are a plumbing problem, a blockage in the blood vessels, or pipes, of the heart. Yes the heart has its own blood supply. Blockages are caused by a clot, or a thick layer of plaque. If blood can’t pass through a vessel, then all the cells beyond the blockage quickly become starved for oxygen, after which they die. This is a heart attack. Continue reading
Tag Archives: coronary arteries
A Primer on Heart Diseases
On my first day of medical school I could not have told you exactly what a heart attack was. I knew it was related to some kind of blockage, but I didn’t know exactly how, where, or why. And though I’m not sure whether anyone yet can explain exactly why, the research continues to bring us closer to answers. At a certain point though, I did begin to understand what heart attacks are, and that is what I’d like to discuss today. Continue reading