Know the Difference Between Heart Attack and Cardiac Arrest

We have all come across a lot of heart-related crises very often. Heart attack and cardiac arrest are very common of all the terms heard. Most of us believe that both of these diseases are the same thing. But to tell you in brief, a Heart attack is a complication that is linked with the blockage in the circulation of blood flow in the coronary arteries of the heart, while cardiac arrest triggers when a heart's electrical system starts malfunctioning, leading to a sudden collapse.

Read till the end of this article to understand the difference between heart attack and cardiac arrest.

Let's deep dive into knowing more about Heart attacks.

A heart attack is a life-threatening condition that requires immediate medical attention. A blood clot stops blood flow to the heart, which causes a heart attack. Tissue loses oxygen and dies if not supplied with blood.

Following are some of the signs of heart attack that you may see in patients:

-In your chest or arms, you may feel pressure, tightness, pain, or a squeezing or hurting sensation that may move to your neck, jaw, or back.

-You may feel breathlessness.

-You may also go through sudden dizziness.

- Sometimes, you would feel cold sweat as well as fatigue.

-Nausea, heartburn, or abdominal discomfort are some of the other symptoms of heart attack that you may experience.

When should you consult a physician?

Take action right away. Some people wait for too long because they are unaware of these indications and symptoms. Just follow these steps:

-If aspirin is required to consume, start taking it: Taking aspirin during a heart attack can help to keep your blood away from clotting, which can lessen the damage to the heart.

However, aspirin can interact with other medications; take only if your doctor or emergency medical personnel advises you.

-Make an emergency medical call: Don't hesitate to seek medical attention if you think you're suffering a heart attack. Have someone take you to the nearest hospital if you don't have access to emergency medical care.

Only drive oneself if you don't have any other options. Driving yourself puts you and others in danger since your condition may worsen.

-If your doctor has prescribed nitroglycerin, consume it: While you wait for help, take it as directed.

Causes

A heart attack can occur due to a variety of factors.

-If you smoke too much.

-If you are already going through diabetes.

-If you drink too much alcohol.

-If you have high blood pressure.

-If you are overweight.

-If you consume a high-fat diet.

After understanding the symptoms and causes of heart attacks, you may be thinking about what treatment options are available for heart attack patients?

Treatment

These treatments entirely depend on the range of severity. The most commonly held treatments are:

-Angioplasty: The coronary arteries get treated with special tubing that includes a deflated balloon.

-Artificial heart valve surgery: A healthy heart valve to replace an aberrant or damaged valve.

-Bypass surgery: Creates new pathways for blood to circulate to your heart muscle to treat blocked heart arteries.

-Heart transplant: A damaged heart is removed and replaced with a healthy human heart that is donated.

Prevention of Heart Attack is a better idea. Let's talk about it -

-You have to control your blood pressure

-Balance your cholesterol

-Maintain a healthy diet

-May also indulge yourself in exercise

-Limit alcohol consumption

-You need to manage your stress level

- And also restrict smoking

Now, let us see what Cardiac arrest is?

The heart stops beating suddenly in cardiac arrest. It may result in the person's death if you don't take steps immediately.

You need to know about the various symptoms of cardiac arrest. Some of these are:

-You may see a sudden collapse.

-You may observe no pulse and no breathing.

-You can also see that there is a loss of consciousness.

-There could be chest pain too

When to visit a doctor in case of cardiac arrest?

On experiencing any of these, you need to visit your doctor right away.

-Chest pain: If you go through severe chest pain, then you need to consult a doctor

-Rapid and irregular heartbeats: If you have a sudden rapid and irregular heartbeat, it could be an early sign of heart attack. Instead of assuming things, move to your doctor.

-Fainting: If you feel like fainting most of the time, then it is not normal. You need to consult your doctor regarding this before something worse happens.

-Dizziness: If you experience dizziness every time, then you need to pay attention to that visit and your doctor.

-Shortness of breath: This could be due to various reasons, but mostly is due to a heart attack. So, you have to visit your doctor for this complication too.

Causes

There are some causes due to which you can end up having a cardiac arrest.

-It can be the result of a heart attack.

-Drug overdose.

-It can also happen because of a severe injury (losing a large amount of blood)

-It can even be due to congenital heart disease.

Treatment

You can find some treatment options for cardiac arrest by doctors.

Some of these treatments include:

One method of emergency treatment for cardiac arrest is cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).

Another one is defibrillation. Once your heart has stopped beating, these therapies will get it started again.

If you survive a cardiac arrest, your doctor may prescribe one or more therapies to lower your chances of having another one.

-Surgery: Damaged blood arteries or heart valves can get cured through surgery. It can also bypass or eliminate artery obstructions.

-Dietary changes: This Will help you to control your cholesterol level.

-Exercise: Helps to make your cardiovascular system fit and strong.

-Medication: It can help lower your blood pressure and cholesterol.

Bringing some changes in your day to day activities can also help you prevent heart attack

-You have to eat healthy food and maintain a healthy lifestyle.

-You have to get yourself into physical activity.

-You need to lose your overweight.

-You need to stop drinking alcohol.

-You need to balance your stress level.

-You have to say no to smoking.

-You need to manage your blood pressure.

Now, you can finally conclude by saying that a heart attack and a cardiac arrest aren't the same things. Just to re-emphasize the difference between heart attack and cardiac arrest, a heart attack happens when the blood flow to a segment of the heart stops, causing that section of the heart muscle to die, whereas a cardiac arrest occurs when the heart stops beating entirely. A heart attack can expose itself in a variety of ways. On the other hand, the main indications of a cardiac arrest are unconsciousness, lack of breathing, and no pulse.