Sudden Cardiac Arrest or Heart Failure or Heart Attack?
Posted by mom811 on Saturday, October 18th, 2008
As a sequel to my previous post:
October has been designated National Sudden Cardiac Arrest Awareness Month (at least, in the United States), thus making the topic relevant. But this SCA is a very expansive medical subject, and I intend not to discuss this from a medical point of view (where I have nil knowledge of) but this is just an attempt to give light about these medical terms, from a lay (re: the medical world) person learning through reliable sites. I focus mainly on the difference between heart failure and heart attack, as I must confess here, up to when I read about these, which I share here (sorry folks but my background is civil/structural engineering!), they were very hazy for me. Now, at least, I know the difference. 
Sudden cardiac arrest (or sudden cardiac death) may start with heart failure, a heart attack or any of the other heart diseases (some: coronary artery disease, heart block, heart valve disease).
Heart failure does not mean that the heart stops functioning abruptly. It is a process wherein the function of the heart becomes abnormal: it is unable to contract or relax properly, heart rhythm is abnormal, or there is lack of coordination in its function. Its ability to pump blood lessens, and the lower chambers of the heart (the ventricles) do not beat efficiently like when it’s healthy. The body tries to compensate this by enlarging the heart so that more blood can be pumped, however if not treated right away, this may result to complications. Common of these are high blood pressure and diabetes. For treatment, this may need changes in lifestyle, diet, and medication. Device therapy is also one approach.
Heart failure afflicts 4-5 million of people in the United States, half of this over 65 years old.
On the other hand: “A heart attack, also called a myocardial infarction (MI), refers to a sudden event in which a portion of the heart stops working because it no longer receives blood.
Heart attack symptoms can include chest pain (angina), cold sweats, discomfort in the arms, back, neck, stomach or jaw, vomiting and lightheadedness. For some people these symptoms do not occur.”
Medicines may be able to treat a heart attack but if none of these are effective, heart surgeons resort to either angioplasty or coronary artery bypass graft (CABG), simply known to us as heart bypass.
As a person with not much background in, or relation with, medicine (aside from that my father was a registered nurse!), I’m the first one to learn from the little research I’ve done. Dabbling with the internet is surely educational, and I thank God for this.
Filed in health & fitness |