 I am Dr. Ranjan Shetty, HOD cardiology in Manipal Hospital. All of you must be wondering about heart attack and cardiac arrest Are they same or are they different? Arrest is the most severe form of heart attack. Most of us know that heart attack occurs because of the blockage in the heart blood vessel There is sudden stoppage of blood flow People get chest pain which gets radiated to the left arm or the neck There is sweating, there is severe uncomfortable feeling But when we talk about cardiac arrest it is a very severe form In this case there is no time The person suddenly becomes unconscious Most of the time this is because of increased heart rate and heart suddenly stops beating At this point the first aid becomes of prime importance Patient is already unconscious At the most we have 3-5 minutes to resist this patient Most of the time the CPR or cardiopulmonary resuscitation should be started immediately When heart attack occurs immediately somebody should look for pulse and response If patient is not responding they should start CPR And also most of the time they need cardiac defibrillator or the shocking device to shock and get the rhythm back So whenever there is arrest there is absolutely no time Hence it is a real medical emergency and it need to be treated immediately