Do you know the difference between a heart attack and cardiac arrest? The correct answer could be lifesaving.

“Many people are at risk for heart failure, heart attack or cardiac arrest,” says Dr. David Wendt, a Chattanooga-based cardiologist and consulting physician for BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee. “All three can have serious consequences if you don’t act right away. However, they’re quite different.”

What’s the difference?

Dr. Wendt: People sometimes use these terms interchangeably, but they describe different things:

• Heart attack occurs when the blood flow to your heart muscle is suddenly blocked or reduced.
• Cardiac arrest occurs when your heart abruptly stops pumping blood due to an abnormal heart rhythm.
• Heart failure occurs when the heart can’t keep up with the job of pumping oxygen-rich blood throughout your body.

Heart attack

When the flow of blood to the heart is stopped, the strength of the heart muscle decreases. A lack of blood flow to the heart muscle may also create a rhythm disturbance that stops the heart from effectively pumping blood to the brain and body.

Each year, more than 800,000 people have a heart attack in the U.S. Symptoms can vary, especially between men and women. Common symptoms include chest pain, shortness of breath, neck and jaw pain, nausea, and vomiting.

Heart attack risk factors: 

• Aging: Men over 45 and women over 55 (or after menopause) have an increased risk.
• Angina, a type of chest pain that occurs when your heart muscle isn’t getting enough oxygen-rich blood.
• Family history of early heart disease – your father or a brother was diagnosed with coronary artery disease before age 55 years of age or your mother or a sister was diagnosed with it before age 65
• Unhealthy lifestyle, such as a poor diet, smoking and lack of physical activity
• Medical conditions such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes and high blood triglycerides
• Obesity
• Some types of bacterial and viral infections, including influenza

Heart attack treatment: 

There are different drugs and procedures that may be used to treat a heart attack, depending on the extent of the blockage and type of heart attack.

Cardiac arrest

More than 436,000 people die from a cardiac arrest each year in the U.S. During a cardiac arrest, you can suddenly lose consciousness and start gasping for air or even stop breathing. It can happen to people who haven’t been diagnosed with heart disease. It can also be fatal if not addressed right away.

Cardiac arrest risk factors:

• Increasing age
• Irregular heart rhythm (arrhythmia)
• Heavy alcohol consumption
• Heavy physical exertion, especially if it exceeds your normal activity
• Other heart problems, such as heart failure, heart inflammation and coronary heart disease
• Race: Black people are at greater risk.
• Sex: Although women’s risk goes up after menopause, men have a higher rate of cardiac arrest.

Cardiac arrest treatment:

Performing Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) right away may increase a person’s chance of survival. An automated external defibrillator (AED) may also help. You may need medications or surgery to widen a blocked artery and improve blood flow.

Some experts call cardiac arrest an electrical problem and a heart attack s a circulation problem. A heart attack can raise the risk of cardiac arrest. So can heart failure, congenital heart defects, infections and cardiomyopathy, a disease of the heart muscle.

Heart failure

A heart that has been weakened by a heart attack or cardiac arrest is at greater risk for heart failure. About 6.7 million adults in the U.S. over the age of 20 have heart failure — and that number is expected to increase.

The first symptom that usually develops is breathlessness, with activity or after lying down at night. Additional symptoms that may develop are fatigue and swelling of the legs.

Heart failure risk factors: 

• Aging: As you get older, your risk of heart failure goes up.
• Family history of heart failure
• Prior heart attacks
• Unhealthy lifestyle, such as smoking, drinking heavily and not getting enough physical activity
• High blood pressure, diabetes, obesity and sleep apnea
• Cancer treatment
• Other serious illnesses, such as serious lung diseases and COVID
• Race: Black people have a higher risk.

Heart failure treatment:  

Your doctor may recommend lifestyle changes, like losing weight, exercise and a low-sodium diet. Medications might include a diuretic to reduce the amount of fluid that builds up in the lungs or legs, medications that decrease the amount of blood that your heart must pump, or an ACE inhibitor or angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) that decreases blood pressure and makes it easier to pump blood.

Related, but not the same

Dr. Wendt: Understanding your risk for these conditions can help you be more aware of symptoms as they occur, so you can take the correct action, right away.

“Today, there are many therapies and drugs, so if one of these events does happen to you, these may help to treat it and prevent worse things from occurring down the road,” says Dr. Wendt. “But the real goal is prevention. Talk with your own doctor about how you can reduce the risk factors that you can change.”

Get more information about specific health terms, topics and conditions to better manage your health on bcbst.com. BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee members can access wellness-related discounts on fitness products, gym memberships, healthy eating and more through Blue365®. BCBST members can also find tools and resources to help improve health and well-being by logging into BlueAccess and going to the Managing Your Health tab.