Myocardial infarction is the scientific name for heart attack. There are different reasons why there can be a myocardial infarction. The most common one is lack of nutrients. This is due to the arteries clogging up and blocking the blood supply that results in a part of the heart muscle dying.
This results in an infarct. Inflammation in the myocardium also causes a body wide reaction, resulting in an elevated temperature of the body. The temperature can rise during the first 24 hours of an infarct and it remains elevated for about a week later. Other tests use enzymes in the blood to detect the infarct.