Heart Attack
or Cardiac Arrest
Please share this with everyone your know. It is that
important. You must know the difference between a heart attack
and cardiac arrest. The wrong emergency treatment while
you are waiting for the professional could kill.
This article was published by Daily Health News from
information from the American Heart Association, www.americanheart.org. and
Keith Churchwell, MD, assistant professor of
medicine, executive medical director, Vanderbilt Heart and
Vascular Institute, Nashville, Tennessee.
Cardiac Arrest or Heart Attack
A heart attack and cardiac arrest are the same, right?
Wrong. While many of us use the terms interchangeably, those in
the know are aware that they are two very different things.
And, most importantly, that they require very different
emergency treatment. A person's likelihood of surviving a
cardiac emergency has much to do with what happens in the
moments after it becomes apparent that something terrible is
happening. Always call 911 first... but be aware that what you
tell the dispatcher can make the difference between life and
death... and what you do while awaiting the arrival of
emergency personnel is not exactly the same for people
suffering cardiac arrest as it is for those having a heart
attack.
The reason the distinction is important is that a person in
cardiac arrest needs a defibrillator immediately and the
results of a new study show getting immediate care can save
lives. Researchers found that one symptom in particular --
noisy breathing, in the form of gasping, gurgling, moaning,
snorting, even snoring -- is both a result of cardiac arrest
and a predictor of the likelihood of survival. I urge
you to read this article all the way to the end in order to
understand some important differences that truly may end up
saving a life -- yours, someone you care about, even that of a
stranger in line behind you at the supermarket.
In order to understand, let's first define
the terms. A heart attack is what happens when the heart does
not receive enough blood due to a blockage, leading to muscle
damage. Cardiac arrest is when the heart stops pumping blood
due to an arrhythmia (ventricular fibrillation). This can be
caused by a heart attack but can also result from previous
damage to the heart from a heart attack or from other heart
conditions.
RECOGNIZING CARDIAC ARREST:
EVERY SECOND COUNTS
Cardiac arrest strikes immediately and without warning. If a
person is upright when cardiac arrest occurs, he/she will
immediately collapse due to a loss of consciousness. Signs of
cardiac arrest include a sudden loss of responsiveness (for
instance, no response when you tap on the victim's shoulder or
call his/her name)... abnormal breathing sounds (gasping,
groaning, moaning, even snoring -- which can sound halting,
labored or like gurgling). These sounds are evidence that blood
flow to the brain and body has been severely impaired and the
brain can no longer coordinate the functions of normal
breathing.
How to respond...
- Report whether the person is breathing or not and
describe what the breathing sounds like to the
dispatcher.
- Perform CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation). If a
person's heart stops beating, even bystanders who are
untrained in CPR can help: Simply push hard and fast in the
center of the chest until emergency personnel arrive. Aim
for 100 compressions/minute. The 911 emergency dispatcher
can also tell you how to properly perform CPR. A victim who
receives CPR and/or defibrillation doubles or triples his
chance of survival.
- Get an automated external defibrillator (AED), if one
is available, and use it at once. Commonly available in
malls, airplanes, gyms and office buildings, AEDs help
restore normal heart rhythm. Though it is vastly better to
have a person who is trained in its use administer the
treatment, the AED is designed to quickly guide even the
untrained responder through the right steps in its
lifesaving use.
Important: In the University of
Arizona study, published in the December 9, 2008, issue of
Circulation, presence of abnormal breathing correlated
with a greater likelihood of survival. The study found that of
patients who received emergency intervention (CPR), 39% of
those who had gasped survived... compared with just 9% of those
who did not have abnormal breathing. Survival
plummeted among those who didn't get bystander help (21% of
gaspers, compared with 7% for non-gaspers), with the odds
decreasing steadily in relation to how long it took for
emergency medical services to be administered.
RECOGNIZING HEART ATTACK:
EVERY MINUTE COUNTS
About one in four Americans recognizes the warning signs of
a heart attack and would call or seek help for someone
appearing to have a heart attack, according to a study from the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Once again,
immediate action is critical, since faster intervention reduces
the amount of muscle damage... and extensive muscle damage can
lead to cardiac arrest, right away or down the road.
The warning signs: The most widely
recognized symptom of a heart attack is crushing chest pain,
often radiating to one or both arms. But many individuals who
have heart attacks do not experience such obvious symptoms,
warns Keith Churchwell, MD, assistant professor of medicine and
executive medical director of the Vanderbilt Heart and Vascular
Institute in Nashville, Tennessee. In fact, some heart attacks
are "silent," without the classic symptoms, or sometimes
(though rarely) with no symptoms at all. Other signs include
arm, jaw, neck, back or abdominal pain, chest discomfort or
tightness... shortness of breath... faintness... nausea or
vomiting. Women are more likely than men to experience
shortness of breath, nausea, vomiting, and back or jaw pain as
their primary symptom.
How to respond...
- Call 911. Even if you're not sure that symptoms
constitute a heart attack, don't take chances. Calling 911
is nearly always the fastest way to get treatment, and
people with chest pain who arrive in hospitals by ambulance
receive care more promptly.
- Do not use a defibrillator on a person who is
not in cardiac arrest. A heart attack by itself is not a
reason to use a defibrillator and its use in this situation
would be dangerous and could cause death.
- Chew an aspirin. Aspirin has anti-clotting properties,
and chewed aspirin enters the bloodstream faster.
Note: The American Heart
Association offers online CPR and AED training at www.americanheart.org. This should be
paired with hands-on instruction. To find a CPR class near
you, enter your zip code or state at www.americanheart.org.
Alertness to the signs and symptoms of cardiac arrest and
heart attack is the single best way to increase the odds a
person will survive. Listen to your body, Dr. Churchwell urges,
and see your doctor if something seems amiss. If someone near
you collapses, move quickly to get help. Seconds and minutes
will make a difference and doing something is always better
than doing nothing.
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