Hypoxia and Medicine

difference between myocardial ischemia and myocardial infarction?

i know that one is necrosis of the heart tissue but how do you distinguish between the two without being able to see that? aren't the symptoms the same?

Public Comments

1. I believe a myocardial infarction is a "heart attack", while myocardial ischemia is a lack of oxygen to the heart (most likely due to clogged arteries) which can be ongoing without having an actual "heart attack" Ischemia is probably a precurser to a heart attack.
2. Ischemia is a decrease in blood flow to the heart muscle, infarction is damage to the heart that involves the death of a certain amount of heart muscle. The doctor can distinguish the difference from the EKG and laboratory tests.