Heart attack
A (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops in one of the of the heart, causing infarction to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is retrosternal chest pain or discomfort that classically radiates to the left shoulder, arm, or jaw. The pain may occasionally feel like . This is the dangerous type of acute .
Underlined words are explained — tap any of them.
Symptoms — what it feels like
- ·Chest pain, shortness of breath, /vomiting, dizziness or lightheadedness, cold sweat, feeling tired; arm, neck, back, jaw, or stomach pain, decreased level or total loss of consciousness
Causes — why it happens
- · or disease usually
How it's found
- ·Electrocardiograms (ECGs), blood tests,
Treatment
- · intervention,
Complications
- ·Heart failure, irregular heartbeat, , coma,
Outlook
- ·STEMI 10% risk of death (developed world)
The sections below are general education drawn from public guidelines (NHS, Mayo, CPIC, WHO, ICMR). They are not individually reviewed by a clinician and are not medical advice — always talk to a doctor about your own health.
Genes that change how certain drugs work — and that differ in South Asians. This is education, not a dosing tool; genotype-guided prescribing is a clinician decision.
is a 'switched-off' medicine that your body has to switch on using an called . Many South Asians carry a gene version that makes a weaker enzyme, so the drug never fully turns on and does less to stop dangerous - which is why a doctor may pick a different blood thinner instead.
South Asian signal: The loss-of-function alleles CYP2C19*2 (c.681G>A, rs4244285) and *3 (c.636G>A, rs4986893) are common in South Asians. In a British-South Asian clopidogrel cohort, ~13% were poor metabolisers (two LOF alleles) and ~57% carried at least one LOF allele (intermediate or poor) - higher than European (~2.4% PM) reference (JACC Advances 2023, PMC10550831). CYP2C19*2 allele frequency in South Asians is reported around 30-34% (Ionova et al., Clin Transl Sci 2020).
Prescriber note: In a South Asian ACS/PCI patient, a poor response to clopidogrel is more likely than European data suggest; where CYP2C19 genotype or a validated point-of-care test is available, an intermediate/poor metaboliser result supports switching to prasugrel or ticagrelor rather than escalating clopidogrel. For CYP2C19 intermediate or poor metabolisers with ACS/PCI, CPIC recommends avoiding clopidogrel and using an alternative antiplatelet (e.g. prasugrel or ticagrelor) where not contraindicated, because reduced clopidogrel activation raises the risk of major adverse cardiovascular events.
Not a dosing tool. Genotype-guided prescribing is a clinician decision; genotyping access in India is limited.
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