Is a heart attack and cardiac arrest the same?

Is a heart attack and cardiac arrest the same?

Heart attack

Symptoms of a heart attack may be immediate with sudden and intense chest pain. But just as often, symptoms like tiredness start slowly and can persist for hours, days or weeks before an attack.

A heart attack is caused by the blockage of a coronary artery, so blood can’t reach a section of the heart muscle. If the blocked artery isn’t reopened quickly, the heart muscle begins to die. The longer a person goes without treatment, the greater the damage.

Cardiac arrest

A cardiac arrest is triggered by an electrical malfunction in the heart that causes an irregular heartbeat (arrhythmia). It usually occurs suddenly. The heart can’t pump blood to the brain and other organs, causing loss of pulse and consciousness. If untreated, death will occur within minutes.

— DAILY MIRROR