Heart Attack Treatment: Medicine

The treatment and management of heart attack involves emergency medical care before and after reaching the hospital, medications, lifestyle changes and, possibly, a cardiac procedure or surgery. The goals of treatment are to restore blood flow to the heart muscle and prevent another heart attack.

Oxygen is given in the emergency room and sometimes during the hospital stay. It raises the level of oxygen in your blood and may help to decrease damage to the heart after a heart attack.

Mediations for heart attacks include:

• Opioid Analgesics
• Vasodilators (Nitroglycerin)
• Thrombolytic Agents
• Antiarrhythmic Medicines:
  • Class I: Sodium channel blockers
  • Class II: Beta-blockers
  • Class III: Action potential-prolonging agents
  • Class IV: Calcium channel blockers
• ACE Inhibitors
• Angiotensin II Receptor Blockers (ARBs)
• Antiplatelet Drugs (including Aspirin)
• Anticoagulants
• Statins

Surgery for heart attacks does not cure the heart per se. Instead, the various surgical procedures listed here restore and/or improve blood flow to the heart muscle, which helps the heart perform better. Possible devices and procedures that may be included in treatment after a heart attack include:

• Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting (CABG)
• Angioplasty (Percutaneous Transluminal Coronary Angioplasty)
• Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD)
• Coronary Artery Brachytherapy
• Laser Revascularization

• Heart Attack and Opioids
• Heart Attack and Vasodilators
• Heart Attack and Thrombolytic Agents
• Heart Attack and Antiarrhythmic Medicines
• Heart Attack and Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme (ACE) Inhibitors
• Heart Attack and Angiotensin II Receptor Blockers (ARBs)
• Heart Attack and Antiplatelet Agents
• Heart Attack and Anticoagulants
• Heart Attack and Statins
• Heart Attack and Surgery
• Talking to Your Doctor About Heart Attack

Opioids can help relieve the chest pain that often follows a heart attack.

Read more about Heart Attack and Opioids.

Vasodilators help enlarge (dilate) blood vessels, enhancing blood flow through otherwise narrowed vessels. Ultimately, the heart can work better, because more blood is delivered to its muscle tissues.

Read more about Heart Attack and Vasodilators.

Thrombolytic agents are sometimes used after a heart attack to restore blood flow to the heart muscle. They do this by dissolving or breaking up blood clots in the coronary artery.

Read more about Heart Attack and Thrombolytic Agents.

Antiarrhythmic drugs help treat heart-attack related arrhythmias by slowing the electrical activity in the heart. Drugs in the various classes have the same overall effect but work through different...

Read more about Heart Attack and Antiarrhythmic Medicines.

ACE inhibitors may be used after a heart attack to lower blood pressure and help lower mortality in people who sustain significant damage to their heart muscle.

Read more about Heart Attack and Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme (ACE) Inhibitors.

Like ACE inhibitors, ARBs relax blood vessels, lower blood pressure, and ease the heart’s workload. These effects may benefit people who have sustained damage to the heart as the result of a...

Read more about Heart Attack and Angiotensin II Receptor Blockers (ARBs).

Antiplatelet agents may help preventing future heart attacks by inhibiting the formation of blood clots. They do this by keeping platelets from clumping and sticking together.

Aspirin helps prevent...

Read more about Heart Attack and Antiplatelet Agents.

Anticoagulants may help prevent a future heart attack by inhibiting the formation of blood clots. They do this by thinning the blood.

Read more about Heart Attack and Anticoagulants.

Statins may help reduce the risk of a heart attack by lowering cholesterol levels and decreasing inflammation.

Read more about Heart Attack and Statins.

All procedures for heart attack patients aim to help restore and/or improve blood flow to the heart muscle, which helps the heart perform better:

• Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting (CABG) helps...

Read more about Heart Attack and Surgery.