How to differentiate cardiac arrest from heart attack

Cardiovascular emergencies that pose a risk to life include heart attacks and cardiac arrest.
A life can be saved by identifying the signs of each and understanding what to do.

Would you be relieved or more concerned if a doctor informed you that your loved one had just had a heart attack rather than a cardiac arrest? Would you be familiar with the distinction between the two terms?

Everyone can get confused by medical terminology, but in this instance, there are significant distinctions between these two cardiac episodes.

Problems in the body’s circulatory system that obstruct blood flow to the heart are what cause a heart attack.
Coronary artery disease is the primary cause of heart attacks.
Your risk may rise as a result of your age, lifestyle choices including diet and exercise, and other health issues.
Heart attacks are frequent in the US.

The electrical system of the heart breaks down during a cardiac arrest. Usually, arrhythmias that mess with the heart’s rhythm and electrical system are to blame. A cardiac arrest happens when the heart’s rhythm ceases.

The symptoms, causes, and therapies of these two illnesses, as well as the prognoses for those who have them, are contrasted in this article.

Difference between heart attack and cardiac arrest

A heart attack, which is often referred to as a myocardial infarction, happens when blood that normally flows to the heart is blocked or cut off. Without enough oxygen-rich blood flowing to the heart, it can cause damage to one of the most important organs in the body, and the heart muscle can begin to die.

A cardiac arrest, on the other hand, is known as sudden cardiac death. The word “arrest” means to stop or bring to a halt. In the case of cardiac arrest, the heart stops beating, which is an extremely serious health issue. Cardiac arrest can cause near-immediate death or disability.

How do symptoms of a heart attack and cardiac arrest compare?

A heart attack and cardiac arrest are both life threatening medical emergencies. It’s helpful to know the symptoms of each.

Symptoms of heart attack

Heart attacks often begin with sudden chest pain, but they can also start slowly with mild pain that comes and goes over several hours. Symptoms of a heart attack can vary, and if you’ve had one heart attack, your symptoms may be different if you experience another one.

Symptoms can also vary between males and females, but for both sexes, the most common symptom of a heart attack is chest pain. However, women are somewhat more likely than men to experience other symptoms, particularly shortness of breath, nausea, vomiting, and back or jaw pain.

Symptoms of cardiac arrest

Cardiac arrests can often happen to people who didn’t know they had a heart problem. A person experiencing cardiac arrest may collapse and lose consciousness. They may stop breathing or experience difficulty breathing.