Heart attack

[Alfie33]

Does anyone know if its the cardiac arrests that cause heart disease or is it the heart attack its self

[bluemoon572]

I don't know if this will answer your question, but cardiac arrest can occur in the absence of heart disease ( from severe electrolyte imbalance,toxicity, improper medication's side effect,etc). Heart disease itself is a more common cause of cardiac arrest though.

[Lezzers]

As bluemoon has said you can have a cardiac arrest (CA) without having heart disease. A CA is more likely to cause a brain injury due to lack of oxygen, depending on your downtime. A HA can cause damage to the heart, though often there's only slight or even no damage if the HA is treated in time. If the HA isn't treated in a timely manner this can cause a CA to occur.Hope this helps

[Alfie33 in reply to Lezzers]

I was rushed to a hospital in rush hour traffic, just as I got there I add 2 cardiac arrests. Just wondered if that had caused my heart disease

[Lezzers in reply to Alfie33]

What was your reason for being rushed to hospital? I hope you're recovering well

[Alfie33 in reply to Lezzers]

I was driving home from work when I add a heart attack. I rang 999 what a experience I kept dropping the phone, the car was misted up, I add chest and back pain. When the ambulance arrived they rushed me to leeds hospital about 15 miles away from our own hospital, but there the experts ,they fitted me a stent

[Lezzers in reply to Alfie33]

Wow, that's quite a story!! First you were probably taken to Leeds because NICE guidelines are that you are taken to the nearest heart specialist hospital. And how very lucky (if you can call it that!) that you were in the hospital when you had your cardiac arrests. I believe it's something like only 8% survive an out of hospital cardiac arrests, my husband being one of the lucky ones.

I'm no medic but I'm guessing you already had heart disease in as much as an artery /arteries were blocked which caused the heart attack and in turn caused the cardiac arrest. I base that assumption on that is what happened to my husband. (Though not all heart attacks are caused by blocked arteries, the fact you had a stent fitted would definitely mean a blocked artery.

Do you mind me asking why you're concerned that the cardiac arrest may have caused you to have heart disease?

[Alfie33 in reply to Lezzers]

Well I have no idea how they brought me back from my cardiac arrests so i was just asking if that could of damaged my heart

[Lezzers in reply to Alfie33]

Cardiac arrest is very complicated, I'm not sure having one damages your heart but a heart attack certainly can. I belong to a cardiac arrest support group and there are many people on there who've had a cardiac arrest, cause unknown, and they don't have a damaged heart.

You would have had an echocardiogram or MRI after your treatment which would have shown if there was any damage due to your heart attack. If you did have any damage, although this can't be repaired, your heart function can improve over time & with medication. My husband had a cardiac arrest due to a heart attack & his heart was severely damaged. However, with medication & lifestyle changes his heart function was normal for 12 year's.

If you're still under a cardiologist I would ask him/her that question or your GP as your surgery will have a copy of your discharge papers which should have that info on it.

You could also ask the BHF nurses on this site, I'll find the number for you shortly. I've also included a link below from the BHF explaining cardiac arrests, but it makes no mention of this causing damage to the heart. I hope it helps.

bhf.org.uk/informationsuppo...

Here's the number for the BHF heart helpline, but it's a 9-5, Monday to Friday number only.

Good luck. It's a great question, would you update us if you do find a definitive answer.

[trafar in reply to Alfie33]

It would be the heart disease that would have potentially caused your heart attack, and then because of blockage of the heart attacked may have caused you to go into cardiac arrest.

[Avagra in reply to Alfie33]

I had my HA in Oct’22 and blue lighted to Leeds General infirmary where a stent was fitted to my circumflex artery. The whole procedure and my stay was done with care and compassion!

[Tos92]

Hopefully I’ve understood your question correctly.

Heart disease is not caused by a heart attack or a cardiac arrest. Heart disease however can cause a heart attack or a cardiac arrest, though heart disease is not always the reason and other factors may trigger one such as the use of certain drugs.

Heart disease is often due to an underlying cause. For example, high cholesterol, high BP and diabetes which can be caused by negative lifestyle habits such as smoking, poor diet and a lack of exercise which may lead to a heart attack as it can result in things like a blockage in the arteries from a build up of plaque or even from the development of a blood clot. Sometimes it is not lifestyle related and some may inherit heart disease if it runs in their family.

Demographics of a person can also play a role.

I however, have a heart condition that was not caused by the above. Rather, my condition of vasospastic angina is thought to be from a congenital heart defect that I have called a myocardial bridge. A coronary artery spasm at the site of my bridge caused a heart attack in 2022. So congenital heart defects are another possible reason.

Others can also have a heart attack as a result of certain medications that they are on as some can increase the risk of a heart attack in people.

A heart attack and a cardiac arrest can cause permanent damage to the heart muscle. It depends how quickly medical attention is sought as Lezzers has said. If there is irreversible damage from a heart attack or a cardiac arrest, this can lead to a poor blood flow to your heart (ischaemia) and give rise to other issues such as arrhythmias. This may increase your risk of having another. However, there are now many treatments available to treat heart disease.

That’s roughly how I understand it. I hope it made sense to you Alfie 😅

Tos

[Alfie33 in reply to Tos92]

Yes I have ischeamic heart disease. The doctor said my heart is damaged

[Tos92 in reply to Alfie33]

What did the doctor say your heart was damaged from? Was it the heart attack?

[Alfie33 in reply to Tos92]

He said it from the heart attack. Thats all the information I got

[Chinkoflight]

It's a great question. I've had a severe stroke, and two years later a collapse while running which showed left ventricular tachycardia had caused a sudden cardiac arrest. Before this and through most of the investigations I did not have cardiovascular disease IE clear echocardiogram, clear angiogram and ECG monitoring wasn't picking anything up. Afib was picked up as a single event in 18 months. I had an implanted loop recorder after the stroke to try and detect heart issues. But somewhere along the line these events caused or were caused by a ventricular scar (infarction?) and severe thinning of the ventricular wall, found in a specialist centre MRI and PETscan. Before these reports the stroke was described as 'cryptogenic' , the tachycardia was described as 'idiopathic' , the Afib was paroxysmal and subsequently one cardiologist said I had had a silent heart attack!! One big mystery!

Unfortunately all the observations were post hoc and failed to bring about the attention to perhaps stop or at least prevent the last event or heart damage.On my latest discharge I now have heart disease as a co-morbidity!!! So in the future there can be no doubt!

I think it is such a generic term, it's not unlike common cold! The doctors know a lot, but what they know is probably the tip of the iceberg.

I prefer to say if I need to that I have heart problems and if people ask then I'll explain. But it does little to explain the complex issues I have experienced and the trauma associated with the blue light admissions without any warning symptoms.

Hopefully you will get a cardiologist curious enough to continue investigating thoroughly and offer solutions and advice about managing your health going forwards.

[Ennasti]

You’ll need to clarify exactly what caused your heart attack with you doctor if you really want an accurate answer.

Technically you can have a heart attack without having heart disease as others have said. The heart attack and subsequent stent insertion could be from a blood clot, blocked artery and even an artery spams or genetic deformity of the artery.

However you’ve mentioned you were diagnosed with ischemic heart disease. This is also known as coronary artery disease. It means you have reduced blood flow to different areas in the heart due to the narrowing or blockage of the coronary arteries. This reduction in blood flow is usually caused plaque and calcium .

If your diet is not the best, you’re overweight and you don’t exercise regularly, and or you’ve have high cholesterol, you’re at risk of atherosclerosis which will cause narrowing and blockages. It can also be genetic.

[Kkarlak]

Your story is similar to mine, in that I was by myself and driving. Basically having a heart attack at 70mph, had the indigestion feeling, clamminess and then heavy arms. Typical for me though, just thought it would pas, which it did (wasnt aware it was a heart attack at the time).

Got to where I was going and needed to walk 2 miles to my destination. Only managed 2 minutes before I could not go any further, which happened twice more. Luckily for me, I was literally 200 yards from North Middx Hospital and took myself in to A&E.

6 Days later 2 stents fitted, transferred to another hospital. My issues was three blocked arteries, 2 major and 1 more minor which was left at the time.

In hindsight I should have stopped the car on the hard shoulder and called 999, but I often wonder if that would have further delayed me getting to Hospital. I was also worried about what would happen to my car - stupid I know, but these are the things that go through your mind at these times.

Glad you are recovering, follow a rehab scheme if your local NHS have one. I found it very useful.

[sandandkev]

At you age you are more likely to have some plaque deposits in the arteries,it's common and can cause angina and/or heart attacks as its the blood flow that's is compromised, so glad you recovered and will be looked after from now on

[andy110519]

Hi Alfie, I think both heart attacks and cardiac arrests are generally symptoms of something rather than a cause. My cardiac arrest was a result of a bicuspid aortic valve, which is considered a heart disease, a very unusual way to discover a bicuspid valve!Each can lead on to other things though.

Good to hear you were one of the lucky ones, take care.

Andy

[Craig53]

Ask a nurse

[Displacedheart]

I think a diseased heart is more at risk of a heart attack. I think the disease disrupts blood flow and causes the attack that further damages the heart. But lots of illnesses outside the heart can impact the heart leading to disease or heart attack or both. So knowing what came first can be hard. Hope u can work it out. Tc

[Shabana1974]

Hi Alfie,

I think only tests maybe to determine which came first. I personally have never had a heart attack or Cardic Arrest. But the amount of damage caused to my heart is the equivalent to having a severe Heart Attack.

I have no norrowing or blockades. So it quite possible that it's Herditry in my instance. But my dad refused Gentic Testing about 10 years ago. So not sure if my heart disease could of been prevented or delayed.

Hope my information is of some help. My heart condition details are in my profile

Best wishes

Shabana

[Simba37]

I believe it’s the attack itself.

[Rabbit55]

Dear Alfie, I had a heart attack recently, and it is caused by stress. Try to take it easy and talk to your GP about it. Kind regards, Rabbit55.

[Milkfairy Heart Star]

A cardiac arrest is when the heart stops beating in a coordinated way, the blood stops being circulated around the body.It can occur if a person has heart disease or no heart disease.

There are several different causes, some due to the blood supply to the heart suddenly being reduced such as a heart attack, coronary vasospasm, severe bleeding, a pulmonary embolism, a blockage of the coronary arteries by a blood clot or piece of plaque.

Other possible causes are cardiomyopathy, heart rhythm disorders, medications and drugs such as cocaine.

The BHF website has more information.

bhf.org.uk/informationsuppo...

Ischaemic heart disease includes heart disease caused by a permanent blockage of the coronary arteries by plaque as well as when the blood vessels themselves do not work properly, microvascular dysfunction and coronary vasospasms.

My brother in law thankfully survived his out of hospital cardiac arrest, which was caused in his case by a heart attack.

Perhaps give the BHF helpline a call and speak with one of the cardiac nurses who are very knowledgeable and be better placed to provide you with further information.

bhf.org.uk/informationsuppo...

[Sillyfroggy]

you’ve been diagnosed with ishchaemic heart disease - essentially that’s clogged arteries. This is the most likely cause of your heart attack.

If a heart attack is not treated in time, it can lead to a cardiac arrest which is the heart going into a fatal, disorganised rhythm. Untreated this can lead to death. The immediate treatment is defibrillation.

The stents unblock the artery and allow normal blood flow to resume. Any heart damage is from areas of heart starved of oxygen during the heart attack

[Lezzers in reply to Sillyfroggy]

Excellent explanation