1.
infarction; blockage of a blood vessel
A medical condition in which a blood vessel becomes blocked, cutting off blood supply to tissue and causing cell death. Most commonly encountered in the terms for heart attack and stroke.
心筋梗塞で倒れた。
He collapsed from a heart attack.
脳梗塞は早期発見が重要だ。
Early detection is important for cerebral infarction.
祖父は心筋梗塞を起こして救急車で運ばれたが、手術のおかげで助かった。
My grandfather had a myocardial infarction and was taken by ambulance, but he was saved thanks to surgery.
The character 梗 means 'to block' and 塞 means 'to obstruct.' Together they describe the blockage of a blood vessel. Almost never used alone in everyday speech — it appears as part of compound medical terms.
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 心筋梗塞: myocardial infarction (heart attack)
- 脳梗塞: cerebral infarction (stroke caused by blockage)
- 梗塞を起こす: to suffer an infarction
- 肺梗塞: pulmonary infarction
- 梗塞巣: infarcted area
SIMILAR WORDS:
- 脳卒中: stroke — general term covering both blockage (脳梗塞) and hemorrhage (脳出血)
- 血栓: blood clot; thrombus — the clot itself that may cause the blockage, not the resulting tissue damage
- 発作: attack; seizure — a general term for sudden onset of symptoms, not specific to vascular blockage
NOTE ON HOMOPHONES:
Several common words share the reading こうそく: 高速 (high speed), 拘束 (restraint), 校則 (school rules). Context and kanji make the meaning clear.