A term coined by Tom Waits. It's quite obviously just heart attack without a
space, but it is taken to
mean a life and death of shit and revelry. The word was used in the title for his 1980 album, Heartattack and
Vine, which had a song of the same name.
An excerpt from Heartattack And Vine
From the album Heartattack And Vine
by Tom Waits,
"See that little Jersey
girl in the see-through top
With the peddle pushers sucking on a soda
pop
Well I
bet she's still a virgin but it's only twenty-five 'til
nine
You can see a million of '
em on heartattack and vine
Better off in Iowa against your scrambled eggs
Than crawling down Cahuenga on a broken pair of legs
You'll find your ignorance is blissful every goddamn time
You're waitin' for the RTD on heartattack and vine"