Treatment

There are a number of treatment options. Treatments work best when they are given immediately after symptoms start – the sooner the better, ideally within 30 minutes. Early treatment to open up the blockage can help prevent or limit damage to the heart muscle.

In an emergency, when your health care team thinks a heart attack is likely, you may be started on:

• Aspirin and other antiplatelet agents to thin your blood or prevent clotting
• Nitroglycerin to help widen the blood vessels and improve blood flow to the heart
• Anticoagulants to prevent further clotting
• Beta blockers to reduce workload on the heart by decreasing the heart rate and blood pressure
• Supplemental oxygen therapy, only if your oxygen level is low

If your care team confirms you are having a heart attack, treatments usually include procedures, surgery, or medications, and lifestyle changes. 

Procedures/Surgery

• Coronary angioplasty, also called a percutaneous coronary intervention or PCI, and stenting to open blocked arteries. In this procedure, a thin, flexible tube is threaded through a blood vessel, usually in the wrist or groin, to the blocked artery. A small wire mesh tube (stent) is placed to prop open the artery and restore blood flow. This is the best treatment of heart attacks and has the best outcomes when done as quickly as possible. 

• Heart bypass or open-heart surgery for patients who can’t undergo less invasive stent placement. It involves moving blood vessels or veins from a different part of the body to bypass or re-route the blood flow around the blocked or narrowed artery. This restores blood flow to the heart. 

• Implantable device (a defibrillator) to help detect and correct for dangerous heart rhythms. The device can either pace you out of the abnormal rhythm or gives a shock to reset the heart into a normal rhythm.

Medications

• Clot-busting medication is another treatment to dissolve any blood clots blocking the artery. This is usually given in situations when angioplasty cannot be performed because there are delays getting the patient to a facility with a catheterization lab.
• Daily aspirin and other antiplatelet agents can help keep the vessel and the stents open.
• Statins and other cholesterol-lowering medications help reduce levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL), also called the “bad” cholesterol, in your blood. Lowering your LDL cholesterol helps lower your risk of a heart attack. These medicines can also help keep blood vessels open, even if your cholesterol is normal.
• Beta blockers can slow a rapid heart rate and lower your blood pressure.
• ACE inhibitors are recommended for some people. These medicines relax the blood vessels and reduce strain on the heart. They also lower blood pressure.

Cardiac Rehabilitation

Cardiac rehabilitation is a medically supervised program to help people recover from a heart attack and live a heart healthier life. Ask about cardiac rehab. Taking part in this program can lower the chance of dying by one-third.

Lifestyle Changes

Whether you’re trying to prevent a first or repeat heart attack, it’s important to commit to healthy habits. For example:

• Eating heart-healthy foods
• Getting daily physical activity
• Maintaining a healthy weight
• Not smoking or quitting with the help of programs and medicine
• Going to your scheduled medical visits, even if you feel well and following your treatment plan 

Find more tips about what you can do to protect your heart: Life After a Heart Attack.