Cardiac Arrest And Heart Attack Are Not Synonymous

Although often used as synonyms, cardiac arrest and heart attack are different conditions, Alexandru Micu reported for ZME Science.

Photo Insert: There is also quite a large degree of variation in regard to the symptoms of various patients.

A cardiac arrest or myocardial infarction is a circulation problem that involves blood flow being blocked from reaching the heart. During cardiac arrest, the heart stops beating and needs to be restarted.

It is caused by an electrical malfunction in the heart which produces arrhythmia (irregular heartbeat). Due to this disruption, blood flow to the brain, lungs, and other organs is disrupted — and with it, the flow of oxygen as well.

The lack of oxygen supply to the brain can render a person unconscious in mere seconds and stop heart function completely. Victims of cardiac arrest can die within minutes without treatment.

Heart attacks occur when one of the coronary arteries supplying oxygenated blood to a section of the heart gets blocked. If this blockage isn’t cleared quickly, cells in the affected area of the heart start dying due to a lack of oxygen.

The effect builds up over time so the longer an individual goes without treatment, the more damage accumulates in tissues in that part of their heart. Blockages are typically caused by build-ups of fat, either cholesterol or other substances.

While symptoms can definitely be immediate and intense (such as feelings of pressure, tightness, or intense pain in the chest), they can also occur over time, up to weeks in advance of an actual heart attack.

There is also quite a large degree of variation in regard to the symptoms of various patients. Women can have different symptoms than men; some patients have no symptoms at all. Angina (recurrent chest pain or pressure) triggered by physical activity and relieved by stress is the most common and earliest warning sign of heart attack.

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