An anterior infarction is an interruption of the blood supply to the anterior wall of the heart, causing localised cell and tissue death, or a heart attack. Infarction, or tissue death, can occur in any area of the heart and is usually due to a blockage of a coronary artery, often caused by heart disease and aggravated by high cholesterol levels or heavy smoking. This can be detected and monitored using an electrocardiograph (ECG). An ECG is an interpretation of the electrical activity of the heart over a specified period of time. It detects and amplifies the tiny electrical charges on the skin that are caused when the heart muscle "depolarises” during each heartbeat. At rest, each heart muscle has an electrical charge across its outer wall which when reduced towards zero (depolarisation), activates the mechanisms in the cell that cause it to contract. During each heartbeat a healthy heart will have an orderly progression of a wave of depolarisation that is then detected and transcribed during an ECG. An ECG is often the best way to measure and diagnose abnormal rhythms of the heart, particularly those caused by damaged tissue, or infraction. Although an ECG can detect that tissue damage has occurred, it is not always possible to pinpoint the precise location of this damage, hence why it might not be possible to rule out anterior infraction.
