In July 2023, rising US basketball star Bronny James fainted on the court during practice and was taken to hospital. The 18-year-old athlete, son of the famous LA Lakers veteran LeBron James, experienced Cardiac arrest.
Many media outlets incorrectly referred to this event as “heart attack” or used these terms interchangeably.
Cardiac arrest and heart attack are separate, although overlapping, concepts related to the heart.
With some experience in how the heart workswe will see how they differ and how they’re related.
Understanding the heart
The heart is a muscle that contracts to act as a pump. When it contracts, it pumps blood—containing oxygen and nutrients—to all of our body’s tissues.
For the heart muscle to operate effectively as a pump, it have to be powered by its own blood supply, which is provided by the coronary arteries. If these arteries are blocked, the heart muscle doesn’t receive the blood it needs.
This may cause heart muscle damage or death and prevent the heart from pumping blood properly.
Heart attack or cardiac arrest?
In easy terms, a heart attack, technically often called a myocardial infarction, means damage or death of the heart muscle.
Cardiac arrest, sometimes called sudden cardiac arrest, occurs when the heart stops beating or, in other words, stops functioning as an efficient pump.
In other words, each seek advice from a heart that is not working because it should, but for various reasons. As we’ll see later, one can result in the other.
Why do they occur? Who is in danger?
Heart attacks are frequently the results of blocked coronary arteries. This is sometimes called coronary artery disease, but in Australia we are likely to seek advice from it as ischemic heart disease.
The primary cause in about 75% of individuals this is a process called atherosclerosis. This happens when fatty and fibrous tissue builds up in the partitions of the coronary arteries, forming plaque. The plaque can block the blood vessel or, in some cases, result in a blood clot.
Atherosclerosis is a long-term, hidden process with many risk aspects that may surprise anyone. High blood pressure, high cholesterol, weight-reduction plan, diabetes, stress, and genes all play a role on this plaque-building process.
Other causes of heart attacks include spasms of the coronary arteries (causing them to narrow), chest trauma, or other aspects that reduce blood flow to the heart muscle.
Whatever the cause, blockage or reduced blood flow through these tubes can prevent the heart muscle from getting enough oxygen and nutrients. Cells in the heart muscle can develop into damaged or die.
But cardiac arrest is the results of an irregular heartbeat, which makes it harder for the heart to pump blood to the body effectively. These irregular heartbeats are frequently caused electrical failures in the heart. There are 4 differing kinds:
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ventricular tachycardia: a rapid and abnormal heart rhythm by which the heart rate increases 100 beats per minute (A traditional resting adult heart rate is normally 60-90 beats per minute). This rapid heart rate prevents the heart from filling with blood and pumping it properly.
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ventricular fibrillation: Instead of beating often, the heart quivers or “flashes,” resembling a bag of worms, causing an irregular heartbeat at a rate of greater than 300 beats per minute
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pulseless electrical activity: occurs when the heart muscle is unable to generate enough pumping force following electrical stimulation, leading to no pulse
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Asystole: the classic flat heart rhythm you see in movies, indicating a lack of electrical activity in the heart.
Cardiac arrest may result from a number of heart and non-heart conditions, including drowning, trauma, suffocation, electrocution, and drug overdose. James’s cardiac arrest was attributed congenital heart defectheart defect with which he was born.
However, amongst the many causes of cardiac arrest, coronary heart disease, corresponding to heart attack, stands out as the commonest cause, accounting for for 70% of all cases.
So how can a heart attack cause cardiac arrest? Remember, during a heart attack, the heart muscle may be damaged or parts of it will probably die. This damaged or dead tissue can interfere with the heart’s ability to conduct electrical signals, increasing the risk of arrhythmia, which may cause the heart to stop beating.
Although a heart attack is a common reason behind cardiac arrest, cardiac arrest doesn’t normally cause a heart attack.
What do they appear like?
Because cardiac arrest leads to the sudden lack of the heart’s ability to pump blood, the commonest signs and symptoms are sudden lack of consciousness, absence of a pulse or heart rate, stopping respiratory, and pale or bluish skin.
But common signs and symptoms of a heart attack include chest pain or discomfort that may spread to other parts of the body, corresponding to the arms, back, neck, jaw, or stomach. Shortness of breath, nausea, dizziness, paleness, and sweating are also common.
What is the message?
Although each heart attack and cardiac arrest are heart diseases, they’ve different mechanisms and outcomes.
A heart attack is like a blockage in the water pipes to your property. But a cardiac arrest is like an electrical fault in your property’s electrical system.
Although each conditions are different in nature, they’ll have serious consequences and require immediate medical intervention.