King of Pop Michael Jackson. He died of cardiac arrest in on June 25, 2009
In an article reporting on Michael Jackson’s death from cardiac arrest, Health.com tells a cardiac arrest is deadlier than a heart attack. Excerpts:
In general, a cardiac arrest is much more dangerous than a heart attack.
During cardiac arrest, the heart actually stops beating and quivers with uncoordinated contractions. Unless a defibrillator is used to shock the heart back into a normal rhythm, death is inevitable. Someone experiencing a cardiac arrest generally collapses, loses consciousness, and stops breathing.
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Despite dramatic TV portrayals of patients being revived from cardiac arrest, the chances of survival in real life are slim. If a bystander performs cardiopulmonary resuscitation until the heart can be shocked back into a normal rhythm, the chances of survival are much better.
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A heart attack, on the other hand, is a reduction in blood flow to the heart, which can cause a crushing chest pain known as angina, along with sweating, nausea, a sense of impending doom, and tissue death in part of the heart muscle. In contrast to cardiac arrest, heart attack patients may not lose consciousness. If they get rapid medical treatment, the prognosis is generally better. Heart attacks are about twice as common as cardiac arrests, but a heart attack can progress to a cardiac arrest if not treated.
