Your heart is an organ made of muscle that squeezes tight to pump blood throughout the body. When you have a heart attack, critical blood supply to the heart itself is blocked and sections of the heart muscle begin to die.

Urgent treatment for heart attack is critical to save heart muscle. The faster blood and oxygen are restored to the affected area, the more likely heart muscle can recover and function normally. This is one reason why emergency treatment is needed as soon as you have any symptoms of heart attack. If you have symptoms of a heart attack, call 9-1-1 right away. Don't drive yourself to the emergency room.

Treatment often starts in an ambulance or as soon as you arrive in the ER when a heart attack is suspected.

Initial treatment for a suspected heart attack often includes giving oxygen therapy and aspirin while testing is started to verify a heart attack. Chewing and swallowing an aspirin can help stop the formation of a blood clot.

An electrocardiogram (EKG) and blood tests are done right away to assess heart damage. While testing is still underway, nitroglycerin and pain relievers may be given to reduce chest pain and improve blood flow to the heart. A beta-blocker may be given to slow the heart rate, which reduces the heart¿s workload and demand for oxygen.

Other blood thinners such as clopidogrel (Plavix) or intravenous heparin may be given right away to reduce the blood's ability to clot.

Further treatment may depend on the type and location of the heart attack. Treatment to restore blood flow is often needed:

• Thrombolytics. These drugs are often called "clot busters" because they actually work to dissolve or break up a blood clot. They are given intravenously during the first hours of a heart attack to save heart muscle that would otherwise be destroyed during a heart attack. Some medications or medical conditions may prevent you from getting thrombolytics. Emergency angioplasty or coronary artery bypass grafting procedures may be used instead.
• Emergency angioplasty. For this procedure, a thin tube called a catheter is threaded through a vein in the groin and up through the blood vessel to the area in the coronary artery that is blocked. A small balloon at the tip of the catheter is inflated to widen the blood vessel and restore blood flow to the heart.Often a small metal mesh tube called a stent is placed in the artery to keep it open.
• Bypass surgery. In some cases, coronary artery bypass surgery may be needed to restore blood flow. In this open heart surgery, either an artery from the chest wall or a vein from elsewhere in the body is used to divert the blood flow around the blocked portion of the coronary artery.

You can expect to spend at least three to five days recovering in the hospital after a heart attack. But you may need to stay longer than that if you've had surgery or complications.

You'll probably need to take medication after your heart attack and for the rest of your life. These medications can help prevent another heart attack from occurring.

Your doctor will probably suggest that you make some lifestyle changes, including a heart-healthy diet and an exercise program once you have recovered. While a heart attack is serious and frightening, many people use it as a second chance to live a healthier life.

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External Sources ACC/AHA 2007 Guidelines for the management of patients with unstable angina/non¿ST-elevation myocardial infarction: executive summary. Circulation. 2007;116:803-877. . Accessed October 01, 2009 National Heart Lung and Blood Institute. How is a heart attack treated?. . Accessed October 01, 2009 ACC/AHA guidelines for the management of patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction - executive summary. Circulation. 2004;110:588-636. . Accessed October 01, 2009

This article was reviewed and updated 08-01-2009.