Sheer Heart Attack (song)

"Sheer Heart Attack" is a song by the British rock band Queen, originally released on their sixth studio album News of the World in 1977. It is one of only two songs on the album entirely written by Roger Taylor.

Background

"Sheer Heart Attack" is one of Queen's heaviest songs. It was originally written for Sheer Heart Attack in 1974, but was not included on the album for several reasons. The song was finished for News Of The World in 1977.

Roger Taylor plays almost every instrument on the finished track, with some help from Brian May on guitar. This is one of the few Queen recordings that does not feature bassist John Deacon.

The song was the B-side of the Deacon-penned single "Spread Your Wings" in February 1978. It was also the B-side of the single "It's Late", written by May, which was released only in Canada, the United States, New Zealand and Japan in April 1978.

Live performances

The song was first performed live in 1977. It was usually performed in some sort of medley, and is one of the few Queen songs for which drummer Taylor would perform lead vocals on stage. It has been released on three live albums: Live Killers in 1979, Queen on Fire - Live at the Bowl in 2004 and Queen Rock Montreal in 2007.

Synonym

A synonym is a word or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word or phrase in the same language. Words that are synonyms are said to be synonymous, and the state of being a synonym is called synonymy. The word comes from Ancient Greek syn (σύν) ("with") and onoma (ὄνομα) ("name"). An example of synonyms are the words begin, start, and commence. Words can be synonymous when meant in certain senses, even if they are not synonymous in all of their senses. For example, if we talk about a long time or an extended time, long and extended are synonymous within that context. Synonyms with exact interchangeability share a seme or denotational sememe, whereas those with inexactly similar meanings share a broader denotational or connotational sememe and thus overlap within a semantic field. Some academics call the former type cognitive synonyms to distinguish them from the latter type, which they call near-synonyms.

In the figurative sense, two words are sometimes said to be synonymous if they have the same connotation:

Heart attack (disambiguation)

Heart attack may refer to:

Film and television

Music

Songs

Myocardial infarction

Myocardial infarction (MI) or acute myocardial infarction (AMI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow stops to a part of the heart causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may travel into the shoulder, arm, back, neck, or jaw. Often it is in the center or left side of the chest and lasts for more than a few minutes. The discomfort may occasionally feel like heartburn. Other symptoms may include shortness of breath, nausea, feeling faint, a cold sweat, or feeling tired. About 30% of people have atypical symptoms, with women more likely than men to present atypically. Among those over 75 years old, about 5% have had an MI with little or no history of symptoms. An MI may cause heart failure, an irregular heartbeat, or cardiac arrest.

Most MIs occur due to coronary artery disease. Risk factors include high blood pressure, smoking, diabetes, lack of exercise, obesity, high blood cholesterol, poor diet, and excessive alcohol intake, among others. The mechanism of an MI often involves the complete blockage of a coronary artery caused by a rupture of an atherosclerotic plaque. MIs are less commonly caused by coronary artery spasms, which may be due to cocaine, significant emotional stress, and extreme cold, among others. A number of tests are useful to help with diagnosis, including electrocardiograms (ECGs), blood tests, and coronary angiography. An ECG may confirm an ST elevation MI if ST elevation is present. Commonly used blood tests include troponin and less often creatine kinase MB.