Cardiac arrest vs heart attack

A Heart-related Misconception

There are many diseases andcomplications which can affect our heart. However, the two mostdangerous ones are heart attack and cardiac arrest. Yes, the two aredifferent, even though many people are not aware of this fact and usethe two terms interchangeably, considering that both “cardiacarrest” and “heart attack” denote the same medical condition.This, of course is not true since there are differences between thetwo, clearly pointing out that they are completely separate heartcomplications. Therefore, if you want to learn the difference betweenthe two and start being capable of differentiating them, read on andfind what the information you seek in the following lines.

Facts about a Cardiac Arrest

Once a cardiac arrest takes place,one's heart stops beating completely. Thus, there is absolutely noheart movement and, thereby, no blood circulation as well as oxygendelivery throughout our organism. This cessation results in lack ofoxygen in our brain, leading to a loss of consciousness. Before thisloss of consciousness takes place, the victim is likely to sufferfrom breathing difficulties, before stopping to breathe completelyand experiencing brain injury subsequently. Many other failures startoccurring during this domino effect, stopping the heart completely,as it was mentioned above. Alternatively, some abnormalities inelectrical signals may lead to a cardiac arrest, along with a severehemorrhage, which can have the same effect.

Heart Attack Facts

Heart attack manifests due to ablockage of blood flow in some of the coronary arteries. This mayaffect one or more of them and the blockage itself can be full oronly partial. Either way, proper blood flow to the heart is affectedand decreased, causing the onset of this condition. Subsequently, theheart muscle deprived of blood and, thereby, oxygen, stopsfunctioning correctly, and eventually dies. This results in severepain in the chest area, breathing difficulties, anxiety attacks andmany other symptoms. The main culprit behind this problem is thisblood clot in the coronary blood vessels and, therefore, thetreatment involves getting it out of the way, supplying blood to theheart anew.

All in all, the differences areobvious, a heart attack may act as a precursor to the cardiac arrest,since the latter leads to complete cessation of the coronaryfunctions. At the same time, the treatment of both of theseconditions is different. Namely, cardiac arrest is treated throughCPR and other techniques used for restoration of heart functions. Onthe other hand, removing the obstructing clot is necessary fortreating a heart attack. Both of these two, however, requireimmediate medical support and assistance.