The medical term for a heart attack is a myocardial infarction (MI) or an acute myocardial infarction (AMI). When blood flow to a section of the heart muscle is blocked, a heart attack occurs. If the blood flow isn't restored quickly, the section of the heart lacking oxygen will begin to die.
Heart attacks occur most often as a result of coronary artery disease (CAD). CAD is a condition in which plaque builds up inside the walls of the coronary arteries (the arteries that supply blood to your heart).
When someone arrives at the hospital having a heart attack, or when they have a heart attack while at the hospital, there are certain procedures that should be followed to minimize the damage to the heart and increase the chance of survival.
Below you will find our quality measures related to a heart attack.
- 30-day rate of readmission for heart attack
- Heart attack mortality
- Heart attack mortality: not including patients transferred in
- Death from any cause within 30 days of hospitalization for heart attack
- Heart attack: aspirin prescribed at discharge
- Heart attack bundle
- Time taken to receive angioplasty (PCI) during a heart attack
- Measures of heart attack care (Leapfrog Group)
- Statins prescribed at discharge for heart attack patients