Explain the pathophysiology for myocardial infarction and tissue plasminogen activator drug, relating the drug target to the compromised or diseas...

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Recommended: Essay pathophysiology myocardial infarction

Myocardial infarction is a medical term commonly known as a heart attack.1 According to the British Heart Foundation, there is approximately 103,000 heart attacks in the United Kingdom each year and every seven minutes someone dies of a heart attack.2 Before a suitable treatment can be found, we must understand the factors that cause myocardial infarction and the pathophysiology of the disease. From there we are then able to determine the effective treatments to be given for this disease.

By definition, infarction is an area of ischemic necrosis caused by blockage of the arterial supply or venous drainage to the myocardium.3 Myocardial infarction is a form of ischemic heart disease where the severity of ischemia is able to cause the death of the myocardial cells followed by inflammatory cell infiltration and fibrous repair.3,4 Ischemia occurs when the supply of blood is insufficient to meet the demand of the cells resulting in necrosis. This is mainly due to blockage of the coronary artery by a thrombus as a result of atherosclerosis preventing blood flow to the heart muscles.5

Atherosclerosis is a condition where there is a build up of fatty deposits in the arteries causing it to narrow and harden.4,6 This process begins with damage to the endothelial lining of the artery, followed by the body’s inflammatory response where monocytes and leukocytes move to the damaged area.7 These leukocytes accumulate cholesterol in the blood leading to the formation of atheroma. Fibrous tissue and calcium salts build up around the atheroma forming hardened plaque causing artery wall to harden and narrow. The stiffened wall of the artery is more likely to crack and suffer damage. When platelets come into contact with the cracked surface of ...

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...mostadoctor.co.uk/content/systems/haematology/clotting/physiology-clotting

Intech [image on the internet]. c2011 [updated 2011 Aug 17; cited 2014 Mar 30]. Available from http://www.intechopen.com/books/tissue-engineering-for-tissue-and-organ-regeneration/cardiovascular-tissue-engineering-based-on-fibrin-gel-scaffolds

The Journal of Biological Chemistry. t-PA is targeted to the regulated secretory pathway [homepage on the Internet]. c1997 [updated 1997 Jan 17; cited 2014 Mar 31]. Available from http://www.jbc.org/content/272/3/1976.short

Helms R, Quan D, Herfindal E, et al.Textbook of Therapeutics: Drug and disease management. 8th ed. Lippincott William & Wilkins 2006. p610,611,829

MedlinePlus. Thrombolytic therapy [homepage on the Internet]. c2012 [updated 2012 June 18; cited 2014 Mar 31]. Available from http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/007089.htm

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