Heart failure and Heart attack are very similar terms which people use interchangeably, but there is a lot of difference between the two diseases.

Heart failure can also be developed after heart attack and can also be a early or late complication of heart attack. Heart failure can happen even without a heart attack, which can have many reasons. For example, sometimes heart failure can occur due to infection or a secondary disease like thyroid disorder, kidney disease, autoimmune disease, pregnancy, alcohol or hereditary etiology and many types of cardiomyopathy. In most of heart failure cases, the pumping capacity of the heart is reduced. Most important investigations are NTProBNP/Echocardiography. Decongestive therapy with anti heart failure medicines are the mainstay of treatment.

A heart attack develops due to a blockage in the arteries that supply blood to the heart muscles. As soon as chest pain begins when there is significant blockage in arteries. Sometimes patients feel chest heaviness or acidity or shoulder pain or gidiness or something strange in chest which sometime associated with sweating which at the last moment presents in the form of heart attack. ECG/ Cardiac Biomarkers/Echocardiography are primary dignostic tests and Coronary angiography is the definitive diagnostic test for heart attack. Blood thinerrs, statin, antianginal drugs are the mainstay of treatment. If there is significant blockage in coronary arteries then revascularisation is the definitive treatment.