Whopping number of individuals suffer from heart diseases today. Apart from our loved ones, we often encounter news about celebrities falling prey to this horrendous ailment. Doctors often describe "cardiac arrest" or "heart attack" as the cause of the sudden demise. For a layperson, both these terms carry the same meaning. We all believe that both these conditions have similar meaning, but different names.

However, the general belief has no connection with reality. In medical language, both these terms have different meaning. Medically, heart attack denotes some kind of damage to the heart muscles due to shortage of blood flow. In other words, this condition arises due to blood clotting in the arteries, thereby resulting into chest pain and other symptoms, which eventually causes death.

On the other hand, cardiac arrest occurs due to some mysterious reasons, wherein our heart fails to pump blood. When this happens, our muscles and other body organs do not receive required amount of blood for bodily functions and survival. Our heart gets weak, and it starts pumping at an unsafe rate, thereby resulting into death in most cases.

Both the situations can have fatal consequences on our health, the worst case scenario being death. As such, cardiac arrest is more common amongst individuals who have already suffered from some kind of heart diseases in the past.

The recent demise of the pop king, Michael Jackson, had raised many eyebrows about the cause of his death. Trickling news report offered contradictory information. Some new sources cited cardiac arrest as the cause of death, others had published heart attack as the cause of death. Eventually, cardiac arrest was declared as the main culprit for the demise of the Pop King. Certain drugs can trigger cardiac arrest amongst individuals, especially those with weak immune system. We all know that Michael Jackson was dangerously underweight for almost a decade or so, and was on heavy drugs as well.

There are plenty of causes that can lead to the onset of cardiac arrest and heart attack. Goes without saying, proper health care is a must to keep oneself immune to these ailments. It’s always advisable to resort to preventive measures, rather than waiting for the arrival of the ailment and then fighting back. After all, forewarned means being forearmed.

If your family members have fallen prey to this ailment, then do check with the doctor about the exact cause of death. Remember, your chances of getting affected by heart diseases are elevated, if your family has a history of such episodes. Seeking as much information as you can will help you take preventive measures to curb or eliminate the cause of this ailment.

Heart attack and cardiac arrests are usually accompanied by several noticeable symptoms. In most cases, victims might experience mild or severe chest pain. Do keep the helpline number handy to make a quick call, whenever the situation goes out of control. Timely help can potentially save your life!