The difference between a stroke and a heart attack and which is worse tolerated

The leading place in the number of cases with a fatal outcome is occupied by diseases of the cardiovascular system. The first positions in this list are occupied by a heart attack and a stroke. The danger of such diseases is that in most cases they arise suddenly, do not manifest themselves in any way earlier. Most citizens do not see the difference between these two diseases at all, and sometimes even mistake them for one.

So what is the difference between a heart attack and a stroke? To understand the difference between two similar diseases, consider the clinical picture of each of them.

heart attack

A heart attack is a pathology, which is a form of coronary heart disease, which develops in case of impaired blood supply in the region of the heart. Twenty minutes after the violation of blood supply, the living tissues of the body die off. This process occurs with the strongest pain syndrome and can lead to death.

The cause of a heart attack is an excessive amount of cholesterol in human vessels. Cholesterol contributes to the formation of atherosclerotic plaques in the blood vessels, which over time grow more and more and leave less and less room in the vessels for normal blood circulation.

Vessels in such places become thin and vulnerable, capable of severe disturbances even with a slight load. In places of violation of the integrity of the vessel, blood clots form from the blood that begins to clot, which prevent the blood from moving further and flowing to the heart. This whole process is a heart attack.

• hereditary heart pathologies;
• elevated levels of cholesterol in the blood;
• obesity;
• diabetes;
• abuse of alcohol and tobacco products;
• unstable mental states, excessive aggressiveness;
• frequent frustration and stress;
• unbalanced diet, which is dominated by fatty foods;
• insufficient physical activity.

Men over 40 are especially susceptible to heart attacks. But the statistics of recent years show that the disease is increasingly overtaking young men a little over thirty years old.

The greater the number of factors affecting the human cardiovascular system, the greater the risk of developing a heart attack.

Stroke

A stroke is a disruption in the flow of blood to various parts of the brain. Inadequate blood supply to areas of the brain leads to disruption in the functioning of nerve cells, which can lead to their further death.

Stroke can be ischemic or hemorrhagic.

A hemorrhagic stroke occurs when a vessel wall ruptures. In this case, the blood begins to flow uncontrollably into the gray matter or parts of the brain, which can lead to impaired speech, lead to vision problems and disrupt the motor functions of the human body. In most cases, a patient who has had this type of stroke dies within the first two to three weeks.

The risk factor for this disease includes people who have recently suffered a myocardial infarction or are prone to other pathologies of the cardiovascular system. These are patients suffering from diabetes mellitus or overweight, subject to frequent stress and worries. Long-term use of hormonal contraceptives increases the risk of developing pathologies in women of reproductive age. The most susceptible to attack are long-term smokers, as well as people leading a sedentary lifestyle.

The development of a pre-stroke state can take a long time.

1. Sudden change in body position. It is enough to sit down sharply or stand up to full height from a lying position.
2. Violation of the diet. This includes the abuse of fatty and carcinogenic foods, eating before bedtime, as well as frequent overeating.
3. Temperature violation. The cause of the attack can be very hot and dry weather outside the window, too stuffy room or taking a hot bath.
4. Sharp loads on the body. Such loads can include both physical overwork that is unusual for a person, and sharp effects on the human psyche, among which nervous shocks and prolonged stress stand out.
5. Change in blood pressure. A sharp decrease in blood pressure, often caused by medications, can lead to rupture of blood vessels or contribute to the separation of a blood clot.

Differences of diseases

Both conditions have the same disease development factors. The causes of an attack of both diseases can also be of the same nature.

• sharp pressing pain in the chest;
• paroxysmal acute headache;
• violation of the heart rhythm;
• deviations of arterial pressure from the norm;
• frequent intermittent breathing;
• numbness of the facial muscles and fingers;
• blanching of the skin;
• loss of consciousness.

The disease is most sharply diluted by secondary symptoms.

1. Asymmetric loss of sensation. It can be expressed in uncoordinated movements, when a person moves freely with one hand, but cannot raise the other. Often there is an asymmetry of facial expressions, when it is possible to smile only on one side of the face, while on the other side the facial muscles do not react, and the skin sags.
2. Temporary loss of speech activity. A person speaks with difficulty, pronounces words indistinctly, often stumbles, and may lose the idea of ​​narration. In rare cases, a person cannot say a word.
3. Violation of mental activity and memory. This condition is expressed in short-term attacks of amnesia, the patient's confusion and the "nebula" of his consciousness. In this case, partial or complete loss of vision is possible.

With all its symptoms, a stroke can proceed both openly and closed. With an open form, the attack manifests itself as a loss of consciousness, a severe headache, similar to pain after a blow. But the most insidious and terrible is the closed form of an attack, which can manifest itself only as a disorientation of a person in space and slurred speech, which does not allow diagnosing the condition as soon as possible and contacting specialists in time.

A heart attack is characterized by the following secondary symptoms:

1. Lowering blood pressure. A sharp jump in pressure downward is caused by a shock state of the body after a rupture of the vessel.
2. Violation of the gastrointestinal tract. Possible acute heartburn, indigestion. Nausea may occur, which will precede the appearance of vomit.
3. various pain syndromes. Pressing pains in the chest, throbbing headache are possible. There may be a sharp toothache that spreads to the entire jaw.
4. Changes in the skin and mucous membranes. The skin of the face becomes earthy, the earlobes darken, and the lips become bluish. The vascular network can appear in the area of ​​the affected organs - on the chest in the region of the heart, on the upper back, on the abdomen in the region of the stomach. The tongue may become whitish.

1. A stroke has only one area of ​​damage - the brain, while a heart attack can affect a number of organs in the human body: the heart, liver, intestines, and even the brain.
2. Stroke, cutting off the supply of blood to areas of the brain, is the cause of damage to healthy cells. A heart attack already affects the diseased organ and contributes to the death of already damaged tissues.
3. A heart attack is a pathological condition of the cardiovascular system, while a stroke is a neurological disease.
4. After a heart attack, the functions of dead cells and tissues are performed by the cells closest to them. With a secondary attack, a person becomes disabled, but most of the possibilities return with proper treatment. A stroke affects those cells that no other can replace. In rare cases, the consequences of a stroke can be eliminated. With a relapse of a stroke attack, death occurs.

Many experts believe that cerebral infarction is a type of stroke, that is, it is an ischemic stroke.

It is problematic to single out what is worse: a stroke or a heart attack. A heart attack brings with it many lesions that lead to serious complications. It is not always possible to cope with such complications. A stroke affects a specific area that can be localized with proper treatment. In this case, only those functions and capabilities of the human body that were controlled by this part of the brain suffer.

The greatest danger is the joint development of both pathologies. In this case, an attack of one of the diseases will become the impetus for exacerbation of the second. At the same time, the chances that the patient will survive are negligible.