5 minutes to death: The difference between cardiac arrest and a heart attack

Produced by: Mohsin Shaikh

Silent Collapse

A cardiac arrest doesn’t warn. No chest pain. No sweating. Just sudden collapse, no pulse—and a five-minute countdown to life or death.

Blocked vs. Broken

Heart attack? A plumbing issue. Cardiac arrest? Total electrical failure. Same organ, two radically different emergencies.

Deadlier Minutes

Your survival odds after cardiac arrest? Just 8% without immediate help. That’s less time than it takes to finish a phone call.

Warning Signs

Heart attacks often whisper before they shout—pain, breathlessness, nausea. Cardiac arrest skips the chatter. It just shuts you down.

Misunderstood Killer

Most people confuse heart attacks with cardiac arrest. But one gives you hours. The other gives you minutes. Know the difference—it saves lives.

CPR or Pills

One emergency needs blood thinners and stents. The other demands CPR and a defibrillator. Get it wrong, and time runs out fast.

Chain Reaction

A heart attack can cause cardiac arrest—but not always. And vice versa. One is about blockage. The other, total shutdown.

Emergency Split

Heart still beating? It’s likely a heart attack. No pulse at all? That’s cardiac arrest—and it’s racing toward fatality.

When Seconds Matter

In cardiac arrest, your chance of survival drops 10% every minute without CPR. Every. Single. Minute.