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Myocardial infarction
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This process is called in popular language “heart attack”. Myocardial infarction is caused by occlusion of an artery responsible for blood and oxygen supply to a given area of the heart. Such occlusion usually occurs by a joint action of a lipid plaque (atherosclerosis, sclerosis) and an overlying blood clot (thrombus). As a result of such occlusion, the vital oxygen supply is cut-off from this area and the involved cells undergo a process of necrosis, during which a proportion of cells are irreversibly damaged and die.