Whats the difference between a heart attack and cardiac arrest?

Many media outlets incorrectly referred to the event as a heart attack or used the terms interchangeably..

But a cardiac arrest is the result of heartbeat irregularities, making it harder for the heart to pump blood effectively around the body..

This fast heart rate prevents the heart from filling with blood and thus pumping adequately. 2. ventricular fibrillation: instead of regular beats, the heart quivers or fibrillates, resembling a bag of worms, resulting in an irregular heartbeat greater than 300 beats per minute 3. pulseless electrical activity: arises when the heart muscle fails to generate sufficient pumping force after electrical stimulation, resulting in no pulse 4..

asystole: the classic flat-line heart rhythm you see in movies, indicating no electrical activity in the heart.. Cardiac arrest can arise from numerous underlying conditions, both heart-related and not, such as drowning, trauma, asphyxia, electrical shock and drug overdose..

Because a cardiac arrest results in the sudden loss of effective heart pumping, the most common signs and symptoms are a sudden loss of consciousness, absence of pulse or heartbeat, stopping of breathing, and pale or blue-tinged skin...