Dr. Nagelhout points out the portion of the heart in this echo that is stunned or not working.
There is a condition that is pretty common after a heart attack called stunned myocardium, but if that stunned portion of the heart doesn't come back to life a lot of damage can be done. Cardiologist Dr. David Nagelhout with North Central heart tells us that's why it's so important to get the ER during the onset of a heart attack.
Dr. Nagelhout says, "Unfortunately, most of the time when they come in they wait too long and they have permanent damage and it doesn't get any better. With a stunned myocardium, just like it sounds, it's stunned. It sits there and doesn't work. If we get in quick enough after a heart attack we get things fixed eventually and the heart muscles improves and goes back to normal."
