The terms are close, but cover different pathologies. Do you distinguish between seizure, arrest and heart failure? Dr. Gérald Kierzek, emergency physician and medical director of True Medical, helps you see things more clearly.
Heart attack (or infarction): the “pipe” that gets blocked
Heart attack, technically called myocardial infarction, is a “plumbing” problem. It occurs when a coronary artery, responsible for supplying blood to the heart, is blocked by a clot.
As Dr. Kierzek explains: “A coronary artery becomes blocked by a clot, often due to an atherosclerotic plaque, depriving part of the heart muscle of oxygen and causing its necrosis.
Unlike cardiac arrest, the heart continues to beat here, but it suffers. Symptoms include severe chest pain radiating to the arm or jaw, often accompanied by sweating. This is an acute situation and “potentially fatal without rapid intervention to dissolve the clot” warns the doctor.
Cardiac arrest: sudden electrical failure
Here, we are no longer talking about a clogged artery, but about an electrical system which “breaks down”. This is an absolute emergency, because the pumping mechanism stops completely.
“The heart suddenly stops beating or beats chaotically, stopping blood circulation and oxygenation of the body” specifies Dr Gérald Kierzek. If a heart attack can be the cause of arrest, it is not the only one: electrocution or an overdose can also be the cause.
The patient collapses and is no longer breathing. According to the emergency physician,
“It is an absolute emergency leading to death in minutes without immediate resuscitation such as cardiac massage or defibrillator.”
Heart failure: when the pump gets tired
Unlike the previous two, heart failure is not a sudden event, but a chronic illness that develops over time. The heart is no longer strong enough to perform its role as a pump.
It is a pathology where “the heart, weakened or rigid, no longer pumps enough blood for the body’s needs“, underlines Dr Kierzek. It is often the consequence of poorly treated high blood pressure or a previous heart attack which has left after-effects.
The signs are progressive: shortness of breath with the slightest effort, persistent fatigue and swelling of the ankles. It does not require an emergency call to the SAMU (unless there are complications), but “it gets worse slowly and can be treated with medication, diet and medical monitoring.”.
What to remember to no longer confuse them
To clearly differentiate these three situations, it is necessary to distinguish the mechanism involved and the degree of urgency.
On the one hand, we have cardiac arrest, which is a sudden electrical failure and an extreme emergency requiring immediate cardiac massage. On the other hand, a heart attack (infarction) corresponds to a blocked artery; it is a rapid and painful event which constitutes a vital emergency requiring calling 15. Finally, heart failure is caused by a tired pump in the long term; it is a chronic illness which requires regular medical monitoring.
“Cardiac arrest is sudden and fatal without immediate action; heart attack is an acute blockage with chest pain, which can lead to arrest or failure; insufficiency is a chronic progressive failure”
summarizes Dr. Kierzek.
Understanding these terms isn’t just a question of vocabulary, it’s a question of survival. When faced with suspicious chest pain, never wait: dial 15. And in the event of a sudden collapse of a loved one, don’t be afraid to use a defibrillator; this is the only way to “restart” the heart before help arrives.