What is the different between sudden cardiac death and a heart attack?

We are back with marathon runner Megan, who experienced cardiac arrest while running the Boston Marathon, along with Cameron, who came to her rescue. And joining us now via Zoom is board-certified cardiologist Dr. Tiffany Di Pietro to explain how this could happen to a seemingly fit, healthy adult. Dr. Sizemore, great to have you with us.

Thanks for having me, Doc. Good to see you.

So Dr. Sizemore, tell us, how common is cardiac arrest in young, fit adults like Megan?

It's very, very, very uncommon. And you know, I kind of use the analogy, it's kind of like if you have a family member who got lung cancer and had never smoked before in their life. There's always the one-off patient. And probably what happened in her scenario is the perfect storm. Accumulation of things that she might not have even known that she had, maybe a little family history she didn't know, maybe some electrolyte derangements, and then you add on some dehydration on top of it, and it just creates this perfect storm. And luckily, and it's so good to hear because I preach and preach and preach about bystander CPR all the time. And truthfully, had Cameron not witnessed all of this, I don't know if Megan would still be with us. It's so exciting, so exciting that, you know, people have this intuition and go down and want to save someone's life. It really is.

In this case, it was a cardiac arrest. So explain to our audience, Dr. Sizemore, the difference when somebody has a heart attack and a cardiac arrest.

Sure. So cardiac arrest is when the heart arrests or it stops beating for whatever reason it might be. It could be from a heart attack, but usually those patients have symptoms prior. They feel chest pain. They feel shortness of breath. There's usually some idea that something bad's happening. Then you have patients like Megan where it just happens out of nowhere. So the definition of cardiac arrest is exactly what it sounds like. The heart arrests. It stops beating. And when the heart stops beating, the blood stops pumping. When the blood stops pumping, we pass out. That's our body's way of saying, we're done. We can't do this anymore. Versus a heart attack, which is a blockage in a vessel of an artery of a heart. And that's when people— when you watch TV and they're grabbing their chest, and oh, I've got this worst chest pain. It's like an elephant sitting on my chest. In my chest. Those are the symptoms of a heart attack. So a heart attack could lead to cardiac arrest, but all cardiac arrests are by no means heart attacks.

Very well explained, Doc. So Cameron, you're sitting there, you see Megan on the screen via Zoom. I mean, how does that make you feel? How do you feel seeing Megan healthy, thriving, alive? And happy.

It's amazing. It's, it's part of why I think people go into nursing. You want to help people out. You want to get, you know, make people better. It's why people go into medicine in general. And so to be able to see this firsthand and be able to be a part of that and, and see how well she's doing afterwards, it's, it's truly a great feeling.

Well, it should be. You deserved it. You earned it. You are, you are a true hero, Cameron.

Thank you.

And Megan, what do you want to say to the people that you're seeing today and the others that aren't here with us today who helped you on that day?

I am so just, I'm so grateful. I'm so grateful that they were there, that they, you know, they didn't have to help, but they were there right away and they saved my life. And without them, I just, I wouldn't be here. And I can't thank them enough. Like I'm just, I'm so blessed and it's so amazing. What they've done, and they just, yeah, it's incredible.

It is incredible. I mean, thank you so much for sharing, Megan, and Cameron, thank you for being the outstanding individual you are and sharing the story. And thank you, Dr. Sizemore, for your input and expertise today.

Thanks for having me.

Thank you.

You're very, very welcome. Stay tuned, we'll be right back.