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

A cardiac arrest and a heart attack are distinct yet overlapping concepts associated with the heart.

With some background in how the heart works, we can see how they differ and how they’re related.

Understanding the heart

The heart is a muscle that contracts to work as a pump. When it contracts it pushes blood – containing oxygen and nutrients – to all the tissues of our body.

For the heart muscle to work effectively as a pump, it needs to be fed its own blood supply, delivered by the coronary arteries. If these arteries are blocked, the heart muscle doesn’t get the blood it needs.

This can cause the heart muscle to become injured or die, and results in the heart not pumping properly.

Heart attack or cardiac arrest?

Simply put, a heart attack, technically known as a myocardial infarction, describes injury to, or death of, the heart muscle.

A cardiac arrest, sometimes called a sudden cardiac arrest, is when the heart stops beating, or put another way, stops working as an effective pump.

In other words, both relate to the heart not working as it should, but for different reasons. As we’ll see later, one can lead to the other.

Why do they happen? Who’s at risk?

Heart attacks typically result from blockages in the coronary arteries. Sometimes this is called coronary artery disease, but in Australia, we tend to refer to it as ischaemic heart disease.

The underlying cause in about 75% of people is a process called atherosclerosis. This is where fatty and fibrous tissue build up in the walls of the coronary arteries, forming a plaque. The plaque can block the blood vessel or, in some instances, lead to the formation of a blood clot.

Atherosclerosis is a long-term, stealthy process, with a number of risk factors that can sneak up on anyone. High blood pressure, high cholesterol, diet, diabetes, stress, and your genes have all been implicated in this plaque-building process.

Other causes of heart attacks include spasms of the coronary arteries (causing them to constrict), chest trauma, or anything else that reduces blood flow to the heart muscle.

Regardless of the cause, blocking or reducing the flow of blood through these pipes can result in the heart muscle not receiving enough oxygen and nutrients. So cells in the heart muscle can be injured or die.

But a cardiac arrest is the result of heartbeat irregularities, making it harder for the heart to pump blood effectively around the body. These heartbeat irregularities are generally due to electrical malfunctions in the heart. There are four distinct types:

• ventricular tachycardia: a rapid and abnormal heart rhythm in which the heartbeat is more than 100 beats per minute (normal adult, resting heart rate is generally 60-90 beats per minute). This fast heart rate prevents the heart from filling with blood and thus pumping adequately

• 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

• pulseless electrical activity: arises when the heart muscle fails to generate sufficient pumping force after electrical stimulation, resulting in no pulse

• 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. James’ cardiac arrest was attributed to a congenital heart defect, a heart condition he was born with.

But among the many causes of a cardiac arrest, ischaemic heart disease, such as a heart attack, stands out as the most common cause, accounting for 70% of all cases.

So how can a heart attack cause a cardiac arrest? You’ll remember that during a heart attack, heart muscle can be damaged or parts of it may die. This damaged or dead tissue can disrupt the heart’s ability to conduct electrical signals, increasing the risk of developing arrhythmias, possibly causing a cardiac arrest.

So while a heart attack is a common cause of cardiac arrest, a cardiac arrest generally does not cause a heart attack.

What do they look like?

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.

But the common signs and symptoms of a heart attack include chest pain or discomfort, which can show up in other regions of the body such as the arms, back, neck, jaw, or stomach. Also frequent are shortness of breath, nausea, light-headedness, looking pale, and sweating.

What’s the take-home message?

While both heart attack and cardiac arrest are disorders related to the heart, they differ in their mechanisms and outcomes.

A heart attack is like a blockage in the plumbing supplying water to a house. But a cardiac arrest is like an electrical malfunction in the house’s wiring.

Despite their different nature both conditions can have severe consequences and require immediate medical attention.

(Michael Todorovic, Associate Professor of Medicine, Bond University and Matthew Barton, Senior lecturer, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Griffith University)

(This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.)

Zhang Zhijie, a 17-year-old Chinese badminton player, died after collapsing on the court during the Badminton Asia Junior Championships in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, as per a report in Marca. The shuttler was playing against Japan’s Kazuma Kawano in the opening game on June 30, which was tied 11-11 when he collapsed. He was immediately given medical treatment, however, he was declared dead at the hospital.

Badminton Asia and the Badminton Association of Indonesia (PBSI) said in a joint statement on Monday, “China’s Zhang Zhijie, a singles player, collapsed on the court during a match in the evening. He was sent to the hospital where he passed away at 23:20 local time yesterday. He was attended to by the tournament doctor and medical team. He was taken in the standby ambulance in less than two minutes and sent to hospital.”

“The world of badminton has lost a talented player,” the statement added.

Videos of the incident recently went viral on the internet, showing a 40-second wait before Zhang was attended to by emergency personnel. There has been harsh criticism directed at officials, with many questioning if prompt medical assistance might have saved his life. In the short clip, a man is seen running to help the shuttler after he collapses, however, he stops mid-way and waits for further instruction.

According to the BBC, a PBSI spokesman later said that “medical teams had to follow a rule where they needed the referee’s permission before entering the court.” He said, “That is in accordance with the regulations and standards of procedure that applies to every international badminton tournament.” Meanwhile, the Indonesian badminton body declared that he had experienced a sudden cardiac arrest.

The young player, who originally hailed from Jiaxing in the Chinese province of Zhejiang, joined the national junior squad in 2023 and won many championships, including the team and men’s titles in Group B of the China Badminton Junior Championships in 2023 and 2024.

The China Badminton Association also expressed deep sorrow and shock. “Zhang Zhijie loved badminton and was an outstanding athlete of the national youth badminton team,” they said. The statement continued, “At present the local hospital has not yet identified the cause of death.”

Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu also took to X (formerly Twitter) to express her condolences. She wrote, “Absolutely heartbreaking news coming from the Junior Asian Badminton Championships about the loss of young badminton player Zhang Zhi Jie.”

Absolutely heartbreaking news coming from the Junior Asian Badminton Championships about the loss of young badminton player Zhang Zhi Jie.

I offer my deepest condolences to Zhang’s family during this devastating time. The world has lost a remarkable talent today.

— Pvsindhu (@Pvsindhu1) June 30, 2024

“I offer my deepest condolences to Zhang’s family during this devastating time. The world has lost a remarkable talent today,” she continued.

Panic ensued at a casino in Singapore after a man suffered a heart attack while celebrating his 3.2 million pound (Rs 33,76,45,600) jackpot. According to news.com.au, the incident happened at the Marina Bay Sands Casino in Singapore on June 22. The unnamed man, a regular visitor to the casino, was left overjoyed after he won the life-changing amount. As he was celebrating and punching the air in sheer joy., he suddenly fell to the ground having a cardiac arrest. 

As he collapsed, horrified bystanders gathered around him as the staff rushed to help him. A woman accompanying the man became increasingly worried and was heard pleading with the staff as they tried to administer medical assistance. He was quickly rushed to the hospital where he is recovering from cardiac arrest.

Meanwhile, many social media reports suggested the man died, however, industry insiders said that the man is alive and still in recovery at the hospital. 

A spokesperson for the casino condemned the false reporting, highlighting the distress it has caused the man’s family. ”Unfortunately, the fake news has spread, and the video still circulating online is causing some distress to the guest’s family,” he said. Some sources have also disputed the amount that the gambler won, however, there is no official clarification of it yet. 

The casino is owned and operated by Las Vegas Sands, a Nevada-based company pulling revenues of $10.4 billion last year.

In a similar incident in 2021, a man in Michigan in the US was found washed up dead on a beach with the winning ticket in his pocket. A similar unfortunate incident happened in the US in April after a man fell into cardiac arrest while sitting at a Las Vegas blackjack table.

A 41-year-old plastic surgeon in the United States has been arrested over the death of his wife who went into cardiac arrest on his operating table in November last year. The doctor, identified as Benjamin Brown, was taken into custody on Monday and charged with one count of second-degree felony homicide for alleged manslaughter by culpable negligence in the death of his wife Hillary Ellington Brown. According to The Independent, he turned himself in to the police after a warrant was put out for his arrest on Friday. 

In a press note, the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office said deputies responded to the 41-year-old’s practice, Restore Plastic Surgery, in Florida, for a medical emergency on November 21. Upon arriving at the scene, first responders located a female victim – later identified as Hillary Brown – suffering from cardiac arrest. She was taken to a hospital, where she was put on life support before she was pronounced dead. An autopsy into her death is pending. 

“The autopsy protocol typically takes several months as it usually is dependent on extensive laboratory and toxicology tests as well as the information gathered by our Major Crimes detectives concerning the circumstances of the death,” the police department said in a statement. 

Benjamin Brown is being held in the county’s jail pending his bond hearing, the statement added. 

According to The Independent, on the day Ms Hillary went into cardiac arrest, she was scheduled to undergo miniature muscle plication/abdominal scar revision, bilateral arm liposuction, lip injections, and ear adjustment procedures. She reportedly prepared her own anaesthesia before the surgeries. She also ingested a handful of multicoloured pills, including Valium. 

Shortly before the procedures, she began experiencing symptoms relating to sedation. When she went into the operating room, her husband administered additional anaesthesia without being able to verify what his wife took. He subsequently did not record his wife’s medication and dosage. At one point, his wife told him that her vision was becoming blurry and she saw “orange”. Moreover, she experienced restlessness, muscle twitching and blurred vision which are common symptoms of toxicity. The 41-year-old, however, continued injecting drugs into her face, following which she became unresponsive and started to seize.

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At this point, a medical assistant asked the doctor if they should call emergency services and he said “no”. In the next 20 minutes, the assistant asked again and he said “no” or “wait,” the outlet reported. 

The plastic surgeon began to panic and requested his assistants to bring him supplies, including an oxygen tank and stethoscope. However, as the medical assistant was new, they found it difficult to find the items. Meanwhile, instead of calling an ambulance, Brown allegedly “shouted” at the staff, asking “What medication did she take?” 

About 10 to 20 minutes after Hillary Brown suffered a seizure, Brown instructed an assistant to call 911, but his wife never regained consciousness. 

The medical board determined that Brown’s treatment of his wife was “careless and haphazard”. Moreover, in May, Florida’s Department of Health issued an emergency order restricting the doctor’s medical license to only perform procedures or surgeries in a licensed hospital while under the supervision of a licensed physician. The department is pursuing disciplinary action in the case. Ben Brown, on the other hand, has chosen to challenge the allegations made against him and the case will be heard by the Division for Administrative Hearings. 

A man in Ohio, United States, was accused of murdering his girlfriend’s one-year-old son, as per a report in People. Hamilton County Prosecuting Attorney Melissa Powers said that Kareem Keita was declared dead in a hospital on May 5 after he was found unresponsive in his home.

According to Ms Powers’ statement, 23-year-old Edward Murray was detained in relation to Kareem’s death and subsequently indicted on many counts, including murder. The statement claimed that the baby was killed on May 1.

Further, an investigation into Kareem’s horrific injuries showed that he had experienced cardiac arrest, which resulted in brain damage, a shattered rib, a lacerated liver, bleeding eye tissue, and brain swelling.

Doctors at a hospital in Cincinnati said that injuries on the one-year-old “could only have occurred from violent impacts against objects or from delivered blows.” Kareem’s death was ruled a homicide.

The statement stated that at the time of the death, Kareem’s mother, Aminata Keita, had been dating Murray for around three months. The complaint claims that on May 1, Murray took Kareem inside and put him “directly to bed” after they had been playing outside the house. The 23-year-old added that the boy skipped meals since he was tired. According to the authorities, Murray claimed to have spent “several minutes” in Kareem’s bedroom.

The prosecutors said, “Murray was unable to provide any alternate explanation for how K.K. could have been injured so severely.”

According to online court documents seen by the outlet, Murray has been charged with two charges of murder, one crime of assault, and one case of endangering the welfare of a child. “This case is both heartbreaking and sickening. I cannot imagine the amount of evil required to hurt an innocent child so severely. “It is genuinely disturbing to think someone capable of doing this might walk among us,” Ms Powers said in the statement.

Pfizer’s gene therapy trial for Duchenne muscular dystrophy resulted in a young patient’s death. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

A young patient died due to cardiac arrest after receiving Pfizer’s experimental gene therapy being tested in a mid-stage trial for a muscle-wasting disorder called Duchenne muscular dystrophy(DMD), the drugmaker told Reuters on May 7.

“A fatal serious adverse event was reported as cardiac arrest for a participant in the Phase 2 DAYLIGHT study,” a company spokesperson told Reuters in an emailed response.

The trial is testing boys two to three years of age with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), a genetic muscle wasting disorder in which most patients lack the protein dystrophin which keeps muscles intact. The disorder affects an estimated one-in-3,500 male births worldwide.

“The patient received the investigational gene therapy, fordadistrogene movaparvovec, in early 2023,” as per a statement from a community letter attributed to the drugmaker’s DMD gene therapy team and posted by a nonprofit advocacy group.

Pfizer did not immediately respond to a Reuters request seeking confirmation on the community letter attributed to the company.

All participants will be followed in the study, for five years after treatment with gene therapy, initiated in August 2022 and estimated to complete in early 2029, as per information updated by the company on a registry of clinical trials.

The company said, together with the independent external data monitoring committee, it is in the process of reviewing the data to understand the potential cause.

The gene therapy candidate is also being tested in the another late-stage DMD study, called CIFFREO, in patients in boys 4 to less than 8 years of age, as per pipeline updates on the drugmaker’s website.

There is not an impact to our expectation of having late-stage results, the company told Reuters in its email.

“We anticipate potentially beginning the primary analysis of the Phase 3 CIFFREO trial of fordadistrogene movaparvovec at the end of this month and sharing top-line results relatively soon,” it added.

In a tragic incident, a three-year-old girl in Brazil died after a scorpion crawled into her bed and stung her as she slept, the New York Post reported. As per the outlet, Maria Fernanda Brito da Silva suffered a cardiac arrest while being treated at a hospital in Campo Grande.

The incident happened on September 25 when the little girl was sleeping at her home in Ribas do Rio Pardo, Brazil. As she slept, the spider crawled under her clothes and stung her in her sleep. Feeling a sharp sting, the girl immediately woke up and her cries quickly alerted her mother who ran to her room.

She was rushed to the Hospital Regional de Mato Grosso do Sul in Campo Grande, Brazil, where she was treated with antivenom antibody therapy. However, the girl died in an intensive care unit on October 1, six days after she was stung.

”It is with immeasurable sadness and regret that the City of Ribas do Rio Pardo, through the Municipal Health Department (Sesau), announces that the child Maria Fernanda Brito da Silva died this Sunday morning,” Ribas do Rio Pardo city officials said in a statement last week.

The girl’s mother said she was left horrified when she found the scorpion attacking her daughter. Describing the incident toPrimeira Pagina, she said, ”The image will stay in my head forever.  She sat on the bed, turned around, and saw the scorpion stuck to her back. It wasn’t a small scorpion, it was a big scorpion. I hit her and she, even though she was in pain, raised her little finger and showed that the scorpion ended up on my shirt. I hit my hand, threw it on the ground, and killed it.”

After killing the scorpion, she rushed outside to seek help, as Maria started vomiting.  A neighbour then rushed them to the hospital.

According to the health department date, more than 3,000 scorpion-related cases have been reported this year in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul.

In a similar incident last year, a seven-year-old boy from Brazil suffered seven heart attacks after he was stung by a Brazilian yellow scorpion while he was putting on his shoes. Furtado Barbosa died on October 25 in a hospital, two days after he was bitten by the yellow Scorpion also known as Tityus Serrulatus- a species with toxic venom, reported The Independent.