MODEL RELEASED. Heart attack. Conceptual image taken in ultraviolet (UV) light of an adult male clutching his chest as he experiences a heart attack. Acute myocardial infarction, the medical term for the oxygen starvation of the heart muscle (the myocardium) due to an obstruction in blood supply, is often associated with severe chest pains. The pain of a heart attack has been likened to that caused by a great weight pressing on the chest and radiating down the arms. The mortality of acute heart disease depends largely on severity and the subsequent speed of treatment. Appropriate medication in the first hours after the attack is critical.