Did you know that a heart attack is different from a sudden cardiac arrest?
“A heart attack is a problem of circulation,” said Dr. Tal Azemi, an interventional cardiologist with the Hartford HealthCare Heart & Vascular Institute at Hartford Hospital. “A patient may have a partial or complete blockage that deprives the heart muscle of blood flow which can stunt or permanently damage the heart muscle.”
“Cardiac arrest or death is a lethal electrical disturbance that causes the heart to be chaotically and ultimately stop,” he said.
In some instances, however, a heart attack and cardiac arrest are linked – but not always.
“A heart attack can lead to sudden cardiac arrest,” Azemi noted.
Learn more, plus the general signs of a heart attack from Dr. Tal Azemi:
Symptoms of a heart attack include:
- Chest discomfort
- Shortness of breath
- Nausea
- Lightheadness
- Cold sweat
- Discomfort of the upper body, including:
- Back
- Neck
- Shoulders
- Between the shoulders
- One or both arms
- Jaw
- Teeth