This is kind of a dumb question but I will ask it anyway.
Because I had a sudden grade 3 heart block, and SSS, is it considered "heart diesease"? Or was it a "heart attack"?
I thought a heart attack was when your heart had a sudden problem.
Thanks.

 

 

Heart disease causes heart attacks.

 

So I have heart disease. Not a heart attack.
SSS is heart disease

 

A heart attack (myocardio Infarction) is caused by blockage of blood flow. Or more simply, a plumbing problem. You can have a heart attack without having heart disease.

You have Heart block and sick sinus syndrome (SSS) which are due to defective electrical signals to the heart telling the muscle when to beat. It is unrelated to a heart attack, the term block just means the electrical signal is blocked. Many people are confused by that term.

Yes, you have heart disease. Very few people with heart disease have heart attacks.

 

This is one of those things you call whatever makes you happy, I guess.

But the definition of disease is "an abnormal condition affecting the organ of the body. It is usually a condition associated with specific symptoms and signs." To me this means if you have a heart attack for whatever reason you had heart disease first.

But you can line up the words heart attack and heart disease however you think is right. The results are going to be the same.

 

from now on, on any medical forms I put I have Heart Disease? Do my kids now put on their forms that their mother has heart disease? This is why I was asking.

 

Yeah, you do. I asked the same question of my doctor when my pacemaker went in in February of this year. Take care,
Jessi

 

You have both. You have heart disease & you had a heart attack.
Liz

 

I have taken the trouble of pasting below some excerpts from medical sources to clarify or rather correct some obvious misconception on your question. To summarize it, based on your post that you have 3rd degree block and SSS, you did not have a heart attack. 3rd degree heart block, SSS, and Heart Attack are each identified below. Additionally note the reference to heart attacks caused by muscle spasms as well as cocaine. Clearly CABG Patch was correct.

Heart Block

The heart has four chambers. The top two are called the atria. The bottom two are called the ventricles.
The heart's "natural" pacemaker is called the sinoatrial (SA) node or sinus node. It's a small mass of specialized cells in the heart's right atrium. It produces electrical impulses that make your heart beat. For your heart to beat properly, the signal must travel from the SA node down a specific path to reach the ventricles. As the signal goes from the atria to the ventricles, it passes through specialized conducting tissue called the atrioventricular (A'tre-o-ven-TRIK'u-ler) (AV) node. As long as the impulse is transmitted normally, the heart pumps and beats at a regular pace.
What is heart block?
Sometimes the signal from the heart's upper to lower chambers is impaired or doesn't transmit. This is "heart block" or "AV block." This does not mean that the blood flow or blood vessels are blocked. Heart block is classified according to the level of impairment — first-degree heart block, second-degree heart block or third-degree (complete) heart block.
What is third-degree or complete heart block?
Complete heart block (complete AV block) means that the heart's electrical signal doesn't pass from the upper to the lower chambers. When this occurs, an independent pacemaker in the lower chambers takes over. The ventricles can contract and pump blood, but at a slower rate than that of the atrial pacemaker.
Complete heart block is most often caused in adults by heart disease or as a side effect of drug toxicity. Heart block also can be present at — or even before — birth. (This is called congenital heart block.) It also may result from an injury to the electrical conduction system during surgery.
Sick Sinus Syndrome (SSS)


Sick sinus syndrome (SSS) is a type of bradycardia in which the sinoatrial (SA), or sinus node is not working as it should. The sinus node is a small cluster of cells in the upper right atrium, of the heart. It contains special "pacemaker" cells that generate the electrical signals that regulate the pace and rhythm of the heartbeat. These signals travel from the sinus node to the AV node. From the AV node, the signal is conducted along pathways that spread into the ventricles, causing them to contract and pump blood into the lungs and throughout the body.
Sick sinus syndrome (SSS) is not a specific disease, but a group of signs or symptoms that indicate the SA node is not functioning properly.

What Is a Heart Attack?
A heart attack occurs when blood flow into a section of heart muscle becomes blocked. If the flow of blood isn’t restored quickly, the section of heart muscle becomes damaged from lack of oxygen and begins to die.
Myocardial infarction (MI) or acute myocardial infarction (AMI), commonly known as a heart attack, is the interruption of blood supply to part of the heart, causing heart cells to die. This is most commonly due to occlusion (blockage) of a coronary artery

What Happens During a Heart Attack?
The heart muscle requires a constant supply of oxygen-rich blood to nourish it. The coronary arteries provide the heart with this critical blood supply. If you have coronary artery disease, those arteries become narrow and blood cannot flow as well as they should.
A heart attack can also be caused by a spasm of a coronary artery. During a coronary spasm, the coronary arteries restrict or spasm on and off, reducing blood supply to the heart muscle (ischemia). It may occur at rest and can even occur in people without significant coronary artery disease.
What causes a heart attack?
Coronary atherosclerosis (or coronary artery disease) refers to the atherosclerosis that causes hardening and narrowing of the coronary arteries. Diseases caused by the reduced blood supply to the heart muscle from coronary atherosclerosis are called coronary heart diseases (CHD). Coronary heart diseases include heart attacks, sudden unexpected death, chest pain (angina), abnormal heart rhythms, and heart failure due to weakening of the heart muscle.
Atherosclerosis and angina pectoris

Angina pectoris (also referred to as angina) is chest pain or pressure that occurs when the blood and oxygen supply to the heart muscle cannot keep up with the needs of the muscle. When coronary arteries are narrowed by more than 50 to 70 percent, the arteries may not be able to increase the supply of blood to the heart muscle during exercise or other periods of high demand for oxygen. An insufficient supply of oxygen to the heart muscle causes angina. Angina that occurs with exercise or exertion is called exertional angina. In some patients, especially diabetics, the progressive decrease in blood flow to the heart may occur without any pain or with just shortness of breath or unusually early fatigue.
Exertional angina usually feels like a pressure, heaviness, squeezing, or aching across the chest. This pain may travel to the neck, jaw, arms, back, or even the teeth, and may be accompanied by shortness of breath, nausea, or a cold sweat. Exertional angina typically lasts from one to 15 minutes and is relieved by rest or by taking nitroglycerin by placing a tablet under the tongue. Both resting and nitroglycerin decrease the heart muscle's demand for oxygen, thus relieving angina. Exertional angina may be the first warning sign of advanced coronary artery disease. Chest pains that just last a few seconds rarely are due to coronary artery disease.
Angina also can occur at rest. Angina at rest more commonly indicates that a coronary artery has narrowed to such a critical degree that the heart is not receiving enough oxygen even at rest. Angina at rest infrequently may be due to spasm of a coronary artery (a condition called Prinzmetal's or variant angina). Unlike a heart attack, there is no permanent muscle damage with either exertional or rest angina.
Non-coronary artery disease causes of heart attack may also occur, these include:
• Cocaine use. This drug can cause the coronary arteries to go into enough spasm to cause a heart attack. As well, because of the irritant effect on the heart's electrical system, cocaine can also cause fatal heart rhythms.
• Prinzmetal angina or coronary artery vasospasm. Coronary arteries can go into spasm and cause angina without specific cause known as Prinzmetal angina. There can be EKG changes associated with this situation, and the diagnosis is made by heart catheterization showing normal coronary arteries that go into spasm when challenged with a medication injected in the cath lab. Approximately 2%-3% of patients with heart disease have coronary artery vasospasm.
• Anomalous coronary artery. In their normal position, the coronary arteries lie on the surface of the heart. On occasion, the course of part the artery can dive into the heart muscle itself. When the heart muscle contracts, it can temporarily kink the artery and cause angina. Again, diagnosis is made by heart catheterization.
• Inadequate oxygenation. Just like any other muscle, heart muscle requires adequate oxygen supply for it to work. If there isn't adequate oxygen delivery, angina and heart attack can occur. This means that an adequate number of red blood cells and normal lung function are required to deliver oxygen to the cells of the heart. Profound anemia from bleeding or bone marrow failure can lead to lack of red blood cells. Lack of oxygen in the bloodstream can occur due to a variety of causes including respiratory failure or carbon monoxide poisoning.

 

I recently had to fill out forms with the enquiry: Do you have heart disease. My answer to such a question is: Pacemaker and I leave it at that. If they want to know why I had a pacemaker they can ask.

One form was for Travel insurance. I just put SSS and then when they asked I sent them a copy of the print from my last checkup. They did insure me.

 

I want to thank rwarren99 for all the trouble to give me all the inforamtion I wanted, needed, and could ever ask for.
Now for the first time I really know what went on, what is going on and how to respond.
Thank you again.
Still Settingthepace!!

 

It's funny how the terminology can trip all of us up. My paperwork has said CHF, DCM, heart disease, severe heart failure. When anyone asks, I just say I have a heart condition. No one seems to understand DCM. They immediately think you must have had a heart attack or have blocked arteries.