Heart attacks and myocardial infarctions are caused by restricted blood flow, often due to atherosclerosis. They can lead to tissue death and other diseases such as strokes and peripheral arterial occlusive disease. Infarcts are classified as white or red depending on the amount of bleeding.
Heart attacks are areas of body tissue that have died because they haven’t received adequate oxygen. The term is used to describe the process that causes this condition, as well as to name the tissue that has been affected. The Latin root of infarti, infarcire, is translated as “to buffer or cram”.
Heart attacks can occur in any organ of the body and can be caused by a variety of diseases. They are, however, more common with atherosclerosis, an arterial blood vessel disease that causes plaque to build up in the arteries. When the person suffering from this disorder experiences a rupture of the plaque, a blood clot forms on the surface of the artery. This prevents proper blood flow. In turn, the clot travels further inside the artery and blocks other blood vessels. This blockage causes tissue death as blood flow, and consequently oxygen flow, is restricted.
Myocardial infarctions (MIs) are another type of tissue death. During an IM, the heart muscle dies because it hasn’t received proper blood circulation. The most common cause of myocardial infarction is narrowing of the coronary arteries, which causes blood clots and restricted blood flow. Other potential causes include sepsis, antiphospholide syndrome, and giant cell arteritis.
Just as heart attacks can be caused by a variety of diseases, they can also cause certain diseases or illnesses. For example, 80% of strokes are thought to be caused by tissue death. Likewise, peripheral arterial occlusive disease, which can cause gangrene and require amputation, can be caused by this condition.
Infarcts are classified as white or red. White infarcts are also called anemia, while red infarcts are referred to as hemorrhagic. The amount of bleeding that occurs within the organ determines whether the condition is classified as white or red. Those that occur in solid organs such as the spleen, heart and kidney are white because they are the result of a blockage in the artery and mainly involve platelets. Lung infarctions, however, are red, because more red blood cells are found in this organ.
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