Health News and Information

One of the potential early complications of the myocardial infarction is heart failure. This term means that the pump is unable to move an adequate amount of blood through the body. When one portion of the heart muscle suddenly dies, the rest of the heart must take on an additional burden. This is similar to one engine of a multiengine airplane suddenly quitting in flight. If the load is not too heavy and if the remaining engines are powerful enough, the plane will continue to be airborne; otherwise the plane will crash. If the pilot has sufficient time to act, he may be able to compensate for his loss of power by throwing cargo or fuel overboard to lighten his load. The burden on the heart muscle is eased by radically reducing the activity that the entire body undertakes. This is another reason for strict rest during the early phases of a heart attack. If the heart is unable to pump an adequate blood volume, the ensuing course of events results in an engorgement of blood in the vessels of the lungs. The increased back pressure eventually results in the water portion of the blood oozing into the air spaces of the lungs, which blocks normal gas exchange. The patient literally drowns in his own fluids. The clinical picture is called pulmonary edema, which is a form of heart failure. The patient experiences this chain of events as a rapidly increasing shortness of breath.*6/309/5*