Cardiac Arrest is Deadlier Than Heart Attack

During cardiac arrest, the heart actually stops beating and quivers with uncoordinated contractions. Unless a defibrillator is used to shock the heart back into a normal rhythm, death is inevitable. Someone experiencing a cardiac arrest generally collapses, loses consciousness, and stops breathing.

Despite dramatic TV portrayals of patients being revived from cardiac arrests, the chances of survival in real life are slim. If a bystander performs cardiopulmonary resuscitation until the heart can be shocked back into a normal rhythm, the chances of survival are much better.

About 95% of people who experience a cardiac arrest die before reaching the hospital.

A heart attack, on the other hand, is a reduction in blood flow to the heart—which can cause a crushing chest pain known as angina, along with sweating, nausea, and a sense of impending doom. In contrast to cardiac arrest, heart attack patients may not lose consciousness. If they get rapid medical treatment, the prognosis is generally better.

Heart attacks are more common in those with heart disease, high blood pressure, people who are obese, and those with diabetes. Cardiac arrest, on the other hand, can be caused by a wide variety of factors, including heart disease, drowning, electrocution, choking, and traumatic injury.

The American Heart Association recommends that people know the warning signs of cardiac arrest (loss of consciousness, lack of pulse), call 911, and perform CPR until help arrives.

What is Heart Attack

A heart attack occurs when the blood supply to the heart is severely reduced or cut off. The blood supply is usually blocked by narrowing arteries or a blood clot. If the blood flow isn't restored quickly, the lack of oxygen can damage the heart muscle, and it will begin to die.

Causes of Heart Attack

Coronary artery disease is the leading cause of heart attacks. The condition arises when fatty material called plaque builds up on the walls of blood vessel. The plaque can burst, and a blood clot can form where the rupture occured. If the clot is big enough, it can restrict the blood flow through the artery. In rare cases, a coronary artery will spasm, stopping the blood flow to a part of the heart. Drugs such as cocaine can set off this process.


Heart Attack Risk Factors
- Smoking
- High cholesterol
- High blood pressure
- Not enough physical activity
- Obesity or excess body fat, especially at the waist
- Diabetes
- Family history of heart attack
- Aging
- Men are generally more likely to suffer heart attacks than women, and they tend to have them earlier in life.

Stress, drinking too much alcohol and poor nutrition can contribute to or worsen some of the risk factors above.


Symptoms of Heart Attack
- Discomfort for more than a few minutes in the center of the chest that feels like pressure, squeezing, fullness or pain. The episodes could stop and recur.
- Discomfort can extend to other areas of the upper body, including the shoulders, arms, back, stomach, jaw and teeth.
- Shortness of breath
- Sweating
- Fainting

Women may exhibit different or less visible symptoms for men. In addition to the warning signs listed above, women may feel abdominal pain or what they think is heartburn, clammy skin, dizziness, and/or unusual or inexplicable fatigue.

What is Cardiac Arrest

Cardiac arrest occurs when the heart suddenly stops beating, preventing blood and oxygen from getting to vital organs. If the heart isn't shocked into beating again using an automated external defibrillator, death can occur within minutes, which is called sudden cardiac arrest.

With each minute that passes without cardiopulmonary resuscitation or defibrillator, the likelihood of survival becomes 7 percent to 10 percent less, according to the American Heart Association.

Causes of Cardiac Arrest

Coronary heart disease is the most common underlying cause of cardiac arrest. Most cardiac arrests are caused by abnormal heart rhythms, called arrhythmia. Arrhythmia can cause the heart to beat much faster or slower and eventually can make the heart stop.

Respiratory arrest, electrocution, drowning, choking and trauma also can result in cardiac arrest. Some people experience cardiac arrest for no known reason.

Risk Factors of Cardiac Arrest
- Smoking
- High cholesterol
- High blood pressure
- Not enough physical activity
- Obesity
- Diabetes
- Not enough blood pumping from the heart
- Prior instance of cardiac arrest or heat attack
- Significant change in electrolytes
- Hyperthyroidism
- Pulmonary hypertension
- Taking drugs that affect heart rhythm
- Using drugs such as cocaine or amphetamines

Symptoms of Cardiac Arrest

Cardiac arrest often comes about without warning. Symptoms include:
- Loss of consciousness
- Breathing stops
- Pulse stops
- Blood pressure stops
- Blackout, chest pain, dizziness, fainting, fatigue, palpitations, shortness of breath or vomiting cardiac arrest

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