If someone has a heart attack, their heart begins to beat very irregularly or stops completely.
He died of a heart attack brought on by overwork.
2. singular noun [aNOUN]
If you say that someone will have a heart attack about something, you are emphasizing that they will be very shocked or angry.
[informal, emphasis]
She'll have a heart attack if I tell her.
heart attack in British English
noun
any sudden severe instance of abnormal heart functioning, esp coronary thrombosis
heart attack in American English
US
any sudden instance of the blood supply to the heart muscle itself becoming inadequate, resulting in heart muscle damage; esp., coronary thrombosis
Examples of 'heart attack' in a sentence
heart attack
You're at a higher risk of heart attack and sudden cardiac death.
The Sun (2016)
Heart attacks resulting from coronary artery disease are the commonest cause of fatality in many strenuous sports.
Shreeve, Dr Caroline M Lower Your Blood Pressure in 4 Easy Stages (1989)
Or you will have a heart attack.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
The disease can cause renal failure and heart attacks.
The Sun (2012)
Then his mum died of a sudden heart attack and he went into his shell.
The Sun (2015)
The medical establishment nearly had a heart attack.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Either you or the manager will have a heart attack.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
He nearly had a heart attack himself.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
Dad nearly had a heart attack.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
It is the leading cause of blindness and contributes to kidney failure, heart attacks and stroke.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
Three years earlier this woman's husband had died of a sudden heart attack.
Christianity Today (2000)
The doctor has said that another scene may easily bring on a heart attack and he will not be responsible for the result.
Amanda Mackenzie Stuart Consuelo & Alva: Love and Power in the Gilded Age (2005)
Instead of the scar left after a heart attack, it will replace the scar with healthy tissue.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
It is important to realize that an attack of angina is not a heart attack or coronary because there is no destruction of heart muscle.
Mervyn, Leonard Preventing Heart Disease (1987)
Heart failure and heart attack are the same thing People sometimes talk about heart failure when they mean heart attack.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
Outlook after heart attack Most victims of a heart attack will recover and will seem normal to the casual acquaintance.
Petch, Dr Michael BMA Family Doctor Guide - Heart Disease (1989)
This makes the walls of the heart chamber thinner, upping the risk of sudden heart attack and death during exercise.
The Sun (2016)
He is going to have a heart attack when I tell him.
The Sun (2013)
I wouldn't like to go quickly of a heart attack or something.
The Sun (2010)
I had a heart attack nearly 10 years ago and the doctors forbid it.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
Bone structure and internal organs would not increase simultaneously and therefore could not cope, leading to anything from skeletal damage to kidney failure and heart attacks.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
More than one in ten adult deaths is now said to be caused by the condition, which can lead to strokes, heart attacks and kidney failure.
The Sun (2008)
In other languages
heart attack
British English: heart attack /hɑːt əˈtæk/ NOUN
If someone has a heart attack, their heart begins to beat irregularly or stops completely.
He died of a heart attack.
American English: heart attack
Arabic: نَوْبَةٌ قَلبِيَّة
Brazilian Portuguese: ataque cardíaco
Chinese: 心脏病发作
Croatian: srčani udar
Czech: infarkt
Danish: hjerteanfald
Dutch: hartaanval
European Spanish: ataque cardíaco
Finnish: sydänkohtaus
French: crise cardiaque
German: Herzinfarkt
Greek: καρδιακή προσβολή
Italian: infarto
Japanese: 心臓発作
Korean: 심장 마비
Norwegian: hjerteinfarkt
Polish: atak serca
European Portuguese: ataque cardíaco
Romanian: infarct
Russian: сердечный приступ
Latin American Spanish: ataque cardíaco
Swedish: hjärtattack
Thai: หัวใจวาย
Turkish: kalp krizi
Ukrainian: серцевий напад
Vietnamese: cơn đau tim
Chinese translation of 'heart attack'
heart attack
n(c)
心脏(臟)病发(發)作 (xīnzàngbìng fāzuò) (阵(陣), zhèn)
to have a heart attack心脏(臟)病发(發)作 (xīnzàngbìng fāzuò)