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- The lack of blood flow to the heart can lead to irreversible damage to the heart muscle. Invasive surgery may be required (coronary artery bypass graft surgery or CABG). Death that occurs suddenly after the onset of a heart attack is most often due to unstable electrical rhythms, specifically ventricular tachycardia and ventricular fibrillation, which do not allow the pumping chamber of the heart (ventricle) to pump efficiently and use up its supply of oxygen. This event can be rapidly reversed with the use of medications or shocks from a defibrillator.
- Other complications from a heart attack include heart blocks, congestive heart failure (the inability of the heart to fill with or pump a sufficient amount of blood to the body), cardiogenic shock (inadequate circulation of blood due to primary failure of the ventricles of the heart to function effectively), infarct extension (an increase of the amount of affected heart tissue), pericarditis (inflammation around the lining of the heart), pulmonary embolism (blood clot in the lungs), valve problems, rupture of the heart muscle, or accumulation of fluid in the cardiac sac (pericardial effusion).
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