Death to an area of heart muscle due to lack of oxygenated blood flow through the coronary arteries is called which condition?

• A. Angina
• B. Atherosclerosis
• C. Pulmonary embolism
• D. Acute myocardial infarction

Answer: (D)

Death of heart muscle from loss of oxygenated blood due to a blocked coronary artery is called an acute myocardial infarction. It happens when a coronary artery becomes occluded, usually from rupture of a plaque with a platelet clot that stops blood flow to a region of the heart. Without oxygen, cardiac cells in that area begin to die within minutes, leading to tissue necrosis. This is different from angina, which is chest pain from temporary ischemia that does not cause tissue death; atherosclerosis is the slow buildup of plaques in arteries that can lead to blockage but is not the event of muscle death itself; and a pulmonary embolism is a clot in the lungs affecting breathing, not death of heart muscle from coronary blockage. Prompt restoration of blood flow is essential to limit the amount of heart muscle that dies.