Difference Between a Heart Attack and Cardiac Arrest – Perhaps not many people know if heart disease is the most cause of death in the world.
Based on medical science, heart disease that causes death can be caused by two factors, the first caused by sudden cardiac arrest and the latter is caused by a heart attack.
Equally serious conditions that cause the heart to be unable to work normally, cardiac arrest and heart attack are actually two different conditions. Do you know what the difference is? If not, let’s refer to the Difference Between a Heart Attack and Cardiac Arrest in the following explanation.
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Difference Between a Heart Attack and Cardiac Arrest
#1. Definition
The difference between cardiac arrest and heart attack starts from the second definition medically.
Cardiac arrest
Cardiac arrest is a condition when the heart stops suddenly due to a disturbance of electrical force in the heart muscle. This condition makes the heart cannot beat normally and trigger the occurrence of arrhythmias.
Consequently, blood distribution throughout the body will suffer from interference. In severe conditions, the risk of death can be very high and can occur in minutes, because other vital organs (such as the brain) do not accept sufficient blood supply.
Heart attack
Meanwhile, heart attack is a fatal condition that occurs when the heart does not receive a sufficient supply of oxygen from the bloodstream to the heart. This condition can occur due to atherosclerosis or blockage of the arteries, which causes the heart to lack of oxygen-rich blood intake.
Unlike cardiac arrest, a heart attack can occur in a longer time, which is a matter of hours. During a heart attack, the heart that does not receive oxygen will continue to damage in the form of the death of the heart muscle. If it does not immediately get the treatment, this condition can lead to death. But unlike cardiac arrest, when experiencing an attack, the heart does not stop beating.
#2. The process of occurrence and symptoms
Cardiac arrest
In terms of occurrence, cardiac arrest occurs very quickly and is characterized by some of the following signs:
- Shortness of breath or not breathing at all
- Pupil of eye entry into skull
- Limp suddenly
- Unconscious
- Skin color becomes pale bluish
- Pulse or heartbeat cannot be found.
Cardiac arrest
Cardiac arrest occurs with longer and slower duration, and may be accompanied by less specific symptoms, such as:
- Shortness of breath
- Abdominal pain that can be accompanied by nausea and vomiting
- Feeling very weak
- Cold Sweat
- Irregular heartbeat
- Dizziness or mild head feels
- Muscle contractions around the chest, neck and arms
- Pain in the upper abdomen (diaphragm), chest, hands, jaw or around the shoulder blade in the upper back.
#3. Causes of heart attack and cardiac arrest
Not only the symptoms, the cause of heart attack and cardiac arrest are also different.
Cardiac arrest
Causes of cardiac arrest can be triggered:
- Heart rhythm Disorder (arrhythmia)
- Ventricular tachycardia
- Coronary heart disease
- Pacemaker failure
- Breathing stops
- Choked
- Drowning
- Electric Stung
- Hypothermia
- Drastic reduction in blood pressure
- Drug abuse
- Excessive alco**hol consumption
- Other causes.
Heart attack
Meanwhile, the cause of heart attack is mostly triggered by coronary heart disease.
Coronary heart disease is a condition when fat accumulates in the blood vessels of the coronary arteries. These veins provide oxygenated blood to the heart.
Although different causes, heart attack and cardiac arrest are often related.
Heart attack is the main cause of sudden cardiac arrest.
Risk factors for coronary heart disease include:
- Smo**king habits
- Consumption of foods high in saturated fats
- High blood pressure
- Diabetes
- Excess weight or obesity
- Infrequent exercise
- Old people, especially men
- Have a history of hereditary heart disease
- Often exposed to traffic pollution
Patients with coronary heart disease can experience heart attack when the plaque (blockage) in the heart arteries is split and causes blood clots that clog the blood vessels of the coronary arteries.
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Thank you very much for reading Difference Between a Heart Attack and Cardiac Arrest, hopefully useful.
