The brain cannot survive without oxygen, and honestly, it can’t last long without it. It is one of the most oxygen-dependent organs we have. Even though it makes up only about 2 percent of total body weight, it uses roughly 20 percent of the body’s oxygen supply. Other organs can manage a little because they carry small reserves, yet the brain is different. It has very limited storage, so when circulation is cut off even briefly, it becomes extremely fragile. In an interview with HT Lifestyle, Dr Sumeet Pawar, MBBS, DNB (Neurosurgery), minimally invasive brain and spine surgeon, explains what happens when blood flow to the brain stops.
Heart attack and cardiac arrest are not the same
Dr Sumeet highlighted that a heart attack and a cardiac arrest are basically not the same thing, even though people mix them up a lot. A heart attack happens when the blood supply to the heart muscle gets blocked, and still, the heart often keeps beating, at least for a while. Cardiac arrest, on the other hand, is when the heart suddenly stops pumping blood in a useful way. In cardiac arrest, the blood flow to the brain goes away almost right away, and that turns it into a real life-threatening situation.
