A heart attack & a cardiac arrest are both risky, but these are 2 different cardiac events. A heart attack may occur when there is just small amount of blood flowing to the heart, while in a cardiac arrest the heart fails to work normally and it just stops beating to the point that a person may actually die from it by losing consciousness first.

What takes place during a heart attack?

Myocardial infarction or better known as heart attack is the leading cause of death in the US alone. There are lots of people who died from it every 34 sec.  This happens due to the lack of blood supply to the part of the heart muscle that gets restricted. This is usually a result of atherosclerosis, which is the formation of fat based plaque inside the arteries and they are responsible in carrying oxygen rich blood going to the heart.

The signs of heart attack

  1. Chest pain may be felt as if there is a pressure and tightness at the center of the chest. It might come and go, but that may last for a few minutes.
  2. Burning pain. This might be felt in your arms, on your back or around the jaw. This kind of pain is more prevalent among women.
  3. Hardness to breath. You may feel shortness of breathing and it can come with or without pain.
  4. Other signs may be pain in the tummy, dizziness and cold sweating, these are very common among women.

What takes while cardiac arrest is ongoing?

Around 295,000 cases of cardiac arrest may occur outside of the hospital yearly in the US. While a heart attack is ongoing problem related to circulation, a cardiac arrest is linked with an electrical problem that brings irregular heartbeat, or arrhythmia. An arrhythmia may keep the heart from pumping sustainable amount of blood supply or it may stop from beating entirely.  A heart attack may boost the risk of a cardiac arrest, but all the cases of heart attacks are not link to cardiac arrest and it doesn’t cause cardiac arrest though. There are other heart conditions that may lead to cardiac arrest like diseases of the muscles of the heart, heart failure and ventricular fibrillation, which is a kind of arrhythmia.

What to do in cases of heart attack and cardiac arrest?

Heart attack & cardiac arrest are different heart conditions, but they are both considered as emergency cases wherein every second counts. It will be best to call 911 in case someone in the family is having a heart attack or a cardiac arrest.  Calling emergency medical services have the best chances of saving a patient’s life after a heart attack or cardiac arrest, since they can start the treatment right away after seeing the person.