Definition

Myocardial Infarction—the medical term for heart attack that doctors use to sound calm while someone's cardiac muscle is dying from lack of blood flow. When chest pain suddenly becomes everyone's urgent problem.

Example Usage

The EKG confirmed an MI, so we rushed him to the cath lab faster than he'd moved in years.

Origin

Medical Latin from 'myo' (muscle) + 'cardial' (heart) + 'infarction' (tissue death), formalized early 20th century

Fun Fact

Despite what movies show, only about 50% of heart attack patients experience crushing chest pain—many have subtler symptoms, especially women.

Source: Cardiology terminology

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