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
vineBetter 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"