NSTEMI

[Lynny12]

Is an NSTEMI a heart attack or not?

I know a STEMI is but what is the difference?

[Zena166]

By Lynny. Here is a link to the NHS website with information about nhs.uk/conditions/heart-att...

A STEMI heart attack is a complete blockage and NSTEMI is partial blockage. Both are viewed as heart attack and can cause heart damage. Although I think the term now being used is ACS Acute Coronary Syndrome (which they referred to me recently). Hope this helps. Hope all is well with you. Best wishes Zena

[MichaelJH Heart Star]

A non-STEMI HA is caused by a severely narrowed artery as opposed to a totally blocked one (clot). These show up differently on an ECG trace.

[Hidden]

Hi Lynny,

The terms STEMI and NSTEMI refer to the amount of damage to the heart wall during a MI (heart attack). A STEMI is a MI that causes damage to the full thickness of the heart wall and a NSTEMI is a MI that causes only partial wall thickness damage hence the difference in the ECG results. STEMI has a raised ST wave and a NSTEMI shows a ST wave that drops below the baseline.

I`ve posted a link to a very good video from the Khan academy of medicine (they also produce a number of other videos relating to cardiac conditions)

youtube.com/watch?v=kO8-RPI...(Not working as expected?)

Hope this helps

Regards

Steve