What's the difference between a heart attack and cardiac arrest?
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Peter Finch played the anchorman Howard Beale in the 1976 film Network – a film which earned him an Oscar. But sadly, Finch was never alive to pick up the award as he died in January 1977 from a heart attack. Over his career, Finch appeared in more than 35 films spanning roughly 29 years.
The “respected and loved” star was 60 years old when he died of a massive heart attack in the lobby of the Beverly Hills Hotel, Los Angeles.
At the time of the shocking incident, he was waiting to appear on ABC’s Good Morning America, according to the New York Times.
It was reported that people noticed something different about him in the build-up to his death.
When he was televised days before on the Tonight Show, he looked “older” than people were expecting.
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“He looked old to me, older than I had expected,” said a spokesman for the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.
Following his death, his studio made the following announcement: “The sudden and untimely passing of Peter Finch has come as a blow to all of us who knew, respected and loved him. Everyone here at M‐G‐M who was privileged to know this gifted artist and warm and gentle human being is deeply saddened beyond words by the news. Our sympathy goes out to his wife and children.”
A heart attack is caused when the blood supply to the heart is blocked.
This is because of the buildup of substances such as cholesterol, calcium and other waste products – known collectively as ‘plaque’.
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It is a life-threatening emergency, and the sooner someone with a heart attack receives treatment the more chance they have of surviving.
Sadly, at the scene of Finch’s heart attack, the star passed out and people tried to revive him but failed, according to the New York Times.
He was taken unconscious to the University of California medical centre and placed in intensive care.
Today, most people survive heart attacks.
According to the British Heart Foundation (BHF), at least seven out of 10 people survive them.
However, back in the 1960s and 70s, the condition was far more lethal.
In 1961, around 166,000 people died from coronary heart disease in Great Britain whereas in 2021 roughly 63,200 people died from the condition. In the 1970s, it made up roughly 40 percent of all deaths in the UK.
Heart disease is a term used to describe the buildup of plaques in the heart, which narrow the arteries.
One explanation for the decline in heart disease deaths may be the lower prevalence of smoking.
The habit, which is known to increase the risk of coronary heart disease, declined rapidly between 1972 and 1994, explains the British Heart Foundation.
Apart from quitting smoking, other behaviours can lower the risk of having a heart attack.
Reducing fatty foods, such as meat pies, butter, lard, cream, hard cheese, cakes and biscuits, and food containing palm oil can also reduce your risk of heart attack.
The symptoms of a heart attack include the following, as per the BHF:
Chest pain or discomfort that comes on suddenly which could feel like pressure, heaviness, or squeezing in your chest
Pain that spreads to your right arm and may spread to your neck, jaw, back, or stomach
Feeling sick, sweaty, or light-headed.
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