With so many health problems around us,
I am sure you must have heard someone in your family or friend circle having
either a stroke or a heart attack and wondered to yourself if they are the same?
A lot of people often get confused and use these terms interchangeably. Let me
enlighten you on something, they are neither the same nor are they synonyms. Although
their symptoms and effects can be similar, strokes and heart attacks are two different
medical problems which affect completely different but very vital parts of the body.
Both are equally dangerous and life threatening and can also lead to disability and even death.
A heart attack is the most common cause of death in the US, while stroke is the fifth most common
cause of death in the US.In today’s video we will tell you the differences between a stroke
and a heart attack so that you know which is which the next time you hear about it.
I hope I haven’t scared enough you to run away, but before you DO run away,
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1. Affects Different Body parts:
A heart attack happens when the arteries that supply blood to the heart become choked with
fatty deposits called plaque. The plaque narrows and blocks the arteries. When pieces of plaque
break free, blood clots can form, blocking the flow of blood to the heart. When that happens,
the heart muscle does not get the oxygen and nutrients that it needs, and parts of the heart
may become damaged or die. This is what you call it a Heart attack, because if affects the heart.
A stroke happens when the blood supply to the brain is interrupted,
causing a part of the brain to die. This is what you call it a stroke,
or "brain attack." So you can say Stroke is similar to a heart attack, but it affects the
blood vessels in the brain instead of the heart. The flow of blood to the brain may be blocked in
the form of a clot. A stroke can also happen when a blood vessel in the brain bursts and bleeds,
depriving an area of the brain blood and causing damage inside the brain. Pretty scary isn’t it?
2. Different Causes: With our lifestyles getting
unhealthier by the day, heart attacks have become quite common. There are certain factors from our
day to day habits that can contribute to causing a heart attack. These can range from eating high
fat foods, lack of exercise, smoking, stress, excess weight to drug use. You might be thinking
that these are things that I can control and if I do, am I still at risk? The answer is a sad yes,
apart from these factors, there are things such as age, family history or heredity and gender which
can contribute to a heart attack. I guess it’s time to find out more about your family history!
Strokes are not as common as a heart attacks but are still more frequent than other diseases.
Just like heart disease, there are certain things which are under your control which cause a stroke.
These are smoking, a diet high in fat and sodium, Obesity, physical
Inactivity, heavy drinking and high blood pressure. Let me make you sad again by telling
you that even in the case of strokes, there are certain factors such as age, family
history, race and gender which can up your risk of a stroke.
Didn’t I tell you earlier that knowing your family history would be a good idea?
3. Symptoms are Different:
Heart attacks can be fatal but if identified and responded to quickly, the patients can be likely
be treated and saved. Some of the signs to look for in case of a heart attack are pain or ache in
your chest or arms. This may even spread to your neck or back. Some other signs could be nausea,
shortness of breath and cold sweat. Although, the symptoms might vary in terms of the severity of
pain, if you find these signs in someone, it’s time to call the emergency services!
The symptoms of stroke are easier to identify as they are visible to the eye and can be recognized.
These can be sudden numbness or weakness of face, arm or leg on one side of the body.
You might also feel sudden confusion, trouble speaking, walking or understanding.Respond
as fast as you can if you notice any such symptoms in yourself or someone that you are around!
4. Both are treated differently: Now you know that heart attacks
and strokes are very different so it makes sense that their treatments vary as well.
In a heart attack, early treatment can prevent or limit damage to the heart muscle.
Acting fast at the first symptoms of a heart attack can save your or your loved one’s life.
Medical personnel usually begin primary treatment even before you get to the hospital by giving
you Aspirin to prevent further blood clotting and another medicine for chest pain and to reduce your
heart’s workload and improve blood flow. At the hospital, doctors use two main treatments to open
blocked coronary arteries and restore blood flow through the blood vessels supplying the heart.
They use clot-busting medicines and a procedure known as coronary angioplasty
to open blocked arteries. The 3 most important things here are timing, timing and timing!
Stroke is a medical emergency and the seconds count. You would be shocked to hear that brain
cells begin to die within 4 minutes of the beginning of a stroke. Treatment depends
on the severity and type of stroke and focuses on restoring blood flow and on controlling bleeding
and reducing pressure on the brain. The patient is given a clot-busting drug to dissolve the clot and
help restore blood flow to the damaged area of the brain. But keep in mind, clot-busting drugs
can only be given within the first few hours and are typically delivered intravenously.
Other stroke treatments include surgery to remove blood from around the brain and repair damaged
blood vessels and also procedures used to improve blood flow in the brain's arteries and veins.
5. Which is worse? Now that you know of all
the differences between a heart attack and stroke, the obvious questions are that both sound pretty
horrible and scary but which is worse? Well, for starters you don’t want to have a heart
attack or a stroke because both can lead to disability for life or death. Now coming back
to the question, both are evil but the lesser of the two evils would have to be the heart attack.
If you go by statistics, heart attacks are more common and kill more people than strokes
but individuals may have more difficulty in life afterwards if they survive a stroke than
if they survive a heart attack. A stroke can lead to life-altering disabilities,
such as losing the ability to talk or to use certain parts of your body (for example,
your right arm and right leg) but a heart attack usually does not lead to any such things.
Now that we have cleared your confusion, we hope this video proves useful to you in the future in
saving someone’s life from a stroke or a heart attack. Now you know how different they are!
Has anyone in you friends or family suffered a stroke or a heart attack in your presence?
Let us know in the comments section below to continue the conversation and spread awareness.