<p>Bollywood&#39;s first female superstar&nbsp;Sridevi died of a cardiac arrest late Saturday night.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Her death has left the nation in shock, with people asking how a person who looked healthy could have died without any warning.</p>

<p>Also read: <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/sridevi-had-no-history-of-heart-ailment-sanjay-kapoor-34009">Sridevi had no history of heart ailment says </a><a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/sridevi-had-no-history-of-heart-ailment-sanjay-kapoor-34009">Sanjay</a><a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/sridevi-had-no-history-of-heart-ailment-sanjay-kapoor-34009"> Kapoor</a></p>

<p>The answer to that of course is a sudden cardiac arrest, which can be caused by a heart attack, but which is not necessarily the same thing as a heart attack.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Also read: <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/entertainment-sridevis-last-rites-to-take-place-on-monday-afternoon-34047">Sridevi&#39;s last rites to be conducted Monday afternoon</a></p>

<p><strong>What is a sudden cardiac arrest?</strong></p>

<p>The heart abruptly stops functioning during a sudden cardiac arrest. There are no prior symptoms.</p>

<p>Also read: <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/sridevi-the-diva-who-lit-up-indian-cinema-screen-33979">The diva who lit up Indian cinema screen</a></p>

<p>When&nbsp;the heart stops, the brain and other vital organs stop receiving oxygen. If not treated, death can ensue in minutes.</p>

<p>Symptoms: The sypmtoms of a cardiac arrest include a person suddenly&nbsp;collapsing, the loss of consciousness, the absence of a pulse, and a person not breathing.</p>

<p><strong>Risk Factors:&nbsp;</strong></p>

<p>&bull;Previous heart attack - 75% of SCA cases are linked to a previous heart attack<br />
&bull;Coronary artery disease<br />
&bull;Family history &ndash; genetic reasons put even younger populations at risk<br />
&bull;Cardiomyopathy<br />
&bull;Cardiac failure</p>

<p><strong>What is a heart attack?</strong></p>

<p>A heart attack occurs when a blood clot blocks blood flow to the heart, causing blockage of an artery. Again, without blood flow, the body&#39;s vital organs are starved of oxygen, which can lead to death.</p>

<p>A heart attack is easier to spot because it comes with prior symptoms, like tightness of the chest or chest pain, a sharp ache in the left arm, fatigue, lightheadedness and an abnormal heartbeat.</p>

<p>Symptoms: The symptoms of a heart attack aren&#39;t always obvious but they include discomfort in the left side of the chest/upper abdomen, shortness of breath from any from any form of exertion, a cold sweat, and vomiting/nausea.</p>

<p><strong>Risk Factors:&nbsp;</strong></p>

<p>&bull;Age&nbsp;<br />
&bull;High blood pressure (hypertension)<br />
&bull;Smoking<br />
&bull;High serum cholesterol<br />
&bull;Family history of coronary disease<br />
&bull;Diabetes<br />
&bull;Stress and obesity</p>

<p><strong>Cardiac arrest vs heart attack: How are they different?</strong></p>

<p>A cardiac arrest is sudden, unexpected and occurs when your heart stops pumping blood to your body. A heart attack occurs when blood flow to the heart is blocked.</p>

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Sridevi, Bollywood's first female superstar, died of a sudden cardiac arrest. It is not necessarily the same thing as a heart attack

Bollywood's first female superstar Sridevi died of a cardiac arrest late Saturday night. Her death has left the nation in shock, with people asking how a person who looked healthy could have died without any warning. Also read: Sridevi had no history of heart ailment says Sanjay Kapoor The answer to that of course is a sudden cardiac arrest, which can be caused by a heart attack, but which is not necessarily the same thing as a heart attack. Also read: Sridevi's last rites to be conducted Monday afternoon What is a sudden cardiac arrest? The heart abruptly stops functioning during a sudden cardiac arrest. There are no prior symptoms. Also read: The diva who lit up Indian cinema screen When the heart stops, the brain and other vital organs stop receiving oxygen. If not treated, death can ensue in minutes. Symptoms: The sypmtoms of a cardiac arrest include a person suddenly collapsing, the loss of consciousness, the absence of a pulse, and a person not breathing. Risk Factors: •Previous heart attack - 75% of SCA cases are linked to a previous heart attack •Coronary artery disease •Family history – genetic reasons put even younger populations at risk •Cardiomyopathy •Cardiac failure What is a heart attack? A heart attack occurs when a blood clot blocks blood flow to the heart, causing blockage of an artery. Again, without blood flow, the body's vital organs are starved of oxygen, which can lead to death. A heart attack is easier to spot because it comes with prior symptoms, like tightness of the chest or chest pain, a sharp ache in the left arm, fatigue, lightheadedness and an abnormal heartbeat. Symptoms: The symptoms of a heart attack aren't always obvious but they include discomfort in the left side of the chest/upper abdomen, shortness of breath from any from any form of exertion, a cold sweat, and vomiting/nausea. Risk Factors: •Age •High blood pressure (hypertension) •Smoking •High serum cholesterol •Family history of coronary disease •Diabetes •Stress and obesity Cardiac arrest vs heart attack: How are they different? A cardiac arrest is sudden, unexpected and occurs when your heart stops pumping blood to your body. A heart attack occurs when blood flow to the heart is blocked. ×

Sridevi: Understanding the difference between sudden cardiac arrest and heart attack

<p>May 28 is <a href="http://www.may28.org/">recognised</a>&nbsp;worldwide as the International Day of Action for Women&#39;s Health. The day is meant to draw&nbsp;attention to issues surrounding the <a href="https://www.oxfamindia.org/blog/974/should-we-only-give-attention-women%E2%80%99s-health-international-day-action%3F">reproductive and sexual health</a> of women.&nbsp;But we will use this opportunity to talk about the health of Indian women in a broader sense.</p>

<p>To do this, we will look at the diseases Indian women die from,&nbsp;the ones government interventions in public health should be most focused on. The most recent data available on the causes of death is in <a href="http://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011-Documents/mccd_Report1/mccd_report_2014.pdf">a report</a> for the year&nbsp;2014, the <em>Report on medical certification of cause of death </em>from the Indian government. This is based on&nbsp;data that has been collected from the forms doctors fill up after a patient dies.</p>

<p>The report has data on the causes of death for 3,99,535 women in 2014. There were deaths registered for which no cause-of-death data was available but despite that this report should still give us a good idea of the &#39;disease burden&#39; faced by women in India.</p>

<p>To understand how this disease burden changes as women grow older, let&#39;s divide the women who died into five age groups: 0-14, 15-34, 35-54, 55-69 and those over 70.</p>

<p><strong>Girls aged 0-14</strong></p>

<p>This is an age at which girls are at their most vulnerable.&nbsp;52% of the deaths in this age group were caused by perinatal conditions. These are conditions that emerge before, during and immediately after birth and include fetal malnutrition and birth trauma.</p>

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<p><strong>Women aged 15-34</strong></p>

<p>For this age group, it isn&#39;t diseases that are the major killer but external factors such as injuries, poisonings, assaults, accidents and drownings. They together accounted for one in five deaths for women aged 15-34.</p>

<p><iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="252" id="datawrapper-chart-Si0dp" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" msallowfullscreen="msallowfullscreen" oallowfullscreen="oallowfullscreen" scrolling="no" src="//datawrapper.dwcdn.net/Si0dp/1/" webkitallowfullscreen="webkitallowfullscreen" width="100%"></iframe><script type="text/javascript">if("undefined"==typeof window.datawrapper)window.datawrapper={};window.datawrapper["Si0dp"]={},window.datawrapper["Si0dp"].embedDeltas={"100":424,"200":338,"300":295,"400":278,"500":252,"600":252,"700":252,"800":252,"900":252,"1000":252},window.datawrapper["Si0dp"].iframe=document.getElementById("datawrapper-chart-Si0dp"),window.datawrapper["Si0dp"].iframe.style.height=window.datawrapper["Si0dp"].embedDeltas[Math.min(1e3,Math.max(100*Math.floor(window.datawrapper["Si0dp"].iframe.offsetWidth/100),100))]+"px",window.addEventListener("message",function(a){if("undefined"!=typeof a.data["datawrapper-height"])for(var b in a.data["datawrapper-height"])if("Si0dp"==b)window.datawrapper["Si0dp"].iframe.style.height=a.data["datawrapper-height"][b]+"px"});</script></p>

<p><strong>Women aged 35-54</strong></p>

<p>Understandably, heart diseases and other diseases of the circulatory system are the main cause of deaths for this age group. 30% of women aged 35-54 died from such diseases, with diseases relating to &#39;pulmonary circulation&#39; (increased blood flow to <a href="http://publishing.cdlib.org/ucpressebooks/view?docId=ft9w1009p7&amp;chunk.id=d0e5033&amp;toc.id=&amp;brand=ucpress">the lungs</a>) responsible for 14%.</p>

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<p><strong>Women aged 55-69</strong></p>

<p>Heart and other circulatory system diseases become an even bigger threat as women grow older, with 41%, or two out of every five deaths down to such diseases. Diseases related to pulmonary circulation caused 16% with ischaemic heart diseases causing 13%. Ischaemic heart diseases, also known as&nbsp;<a href="http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Coronary-heart-disease/Pages/Introduction.aspx">coronary artery diseases</a>, are diseases where blood flow is blocked by fatty deposits along the artery walls resulting in heart attacks or heart failure.</p>

<p><iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="252" id="datawrapper-chart-9N5Ee" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" msallowfullscreen="msallowfullscreen" oallowfullscreen="oallowfullscreen" scrolling="no" src="//datawrapper.dwcdn.net/9N5Ee/1/" webkitallowfullscreen="webkitallowfullscreen" width="100%"></iframe><script type="text/javascript">if("undefined"==typeof window.datawrapper)window.datawrapper={};window.datawrapper["9N5Ee"]={},window.datawrapper["9N5Ee"].embedDeltas={"100":424,"200":338,"300":295,"400":278,"500":252,"600":252,"700":252,"800":252,"900":252,"1000":252},window.datawrapper["9N5Ee"].iframe=document.getElementById("datawrapper-chart-9N5Ee"),window.datawrapper["9N5Ee"].iframe.style.height=window.datawrapper["9N5Ee"].embedDeltas[Math.min(1e3,Math.max(100*Math.floor(window.datawrapper["9N5Ee"].iframe.offsetWidth/100),100))]+"px",window.addEventListener("message",function(a){if("undefined"!=typeof a.data["datawrapper-height"])for(var b in a.data["datawrapper-height"])if("9N5Ee"==b)window.datawrapper["9N5Ee"].iframe.style.height=a.data["datawrapper-height"][b]+"px"});</script></p>

<p><strong>Women over 70</strong></p>

<p>Diseases of the circulatory system continue to be a major factor, being responsible for 45% of deaths. Of this 19% are related to ischaemic heart diseases and 16% to issues with pulmonary circulation.</p>

<p><iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="252" id="datawrapper-chart-nNYsi" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" msallowfullscreen="msallowfullscreen" oallowfullscreen="oallowfullscreen" scrolling="no" src="//datawrapper.dwcdn.net/nNYsi/1/" webkitallowfullscreen="webkitallowfullscreen" width="100%"></iframe><script type="text/javascript">if("undefined"==typeof window.datawrapper)window.datawrapper={};window.datawrapper["nNYsi"]={},window.datawrapper["nNYsi"].embedDeltas={"100":424,"200":338,"300":295,"400":252,"500":252,"600":252,"700":252,"800":252,"900":252,"1000":252},window.datawrapper["nNYsi"].iframe=document.getElementById("datawrapper-chart-nNYsi"),window.datawrapper["nNYsi"].iframe.style.height=window.datawrapper["nNYsi"].embedDeltas[Math.min(1e3,Math.max(100*Math.floor(window.datawrapper["nNYsi"].iframe.offsetWidth/100),100))]+"px",window.addEventListener("message",function(a){if("undefined"!=typeof a.data["datawrapper-height"])for(var b in a.data["datawrapper-height"])if("nNYsi"==b)window.datawrapper["nNYsi"].iframe.style.height=a.data["datawrapper-height"][b]+"px"});</script></p>

<p>Going by these charts, we see that heart diseases are the biggest factor in women&#39;s health as they grow older, even more than infectious or respiratory diseases. Government interventions in public health would do well to keep that in mind.</p>


Government interventions in public health should focus on reducing heart disease rather than the infectious diseases that plagued India in the past

May 28 is recognised worldwide as the International Day of Action for Women's Health. The day is meant to draw attention to issues surrounding the reproductive and sexual health of women. But we will use this opportunity to talk about the health of Indian women in a broader sense. To do this, we will look at the diseases Indian women die from, the ones government interventions in public health should be most focused on. The most recent data available on the causes of death is in a report for the year 2014, the Report on medical certification of cause of death from the Indian government. This is based on data that has been collected from the forms doctors fill up after a patient dies. The report has data on the causes of death for 3,99,535 women in 2014. There were deaths registered for which no cause-of-death data was available but despite that this report should still give us a good idea of the 'disease burden' faced by women in India. To understand how this disease burden changes as women grow older, let's divide the women who died into five age groups: 0-14, 15-34, 35-54, 55-69 and those over 70. Girls aged 0-14 This is an age at which girls are at their most vulnerable. 52% of the deaths in this age group were caused by perinatal conditions. These are conditions that emerge before, during and immediately after birth and include fetal malnutrition and birth trauma. Women aged 15-34 For this age group, it isn't diseases that are the major killer but external factors such as injuries, poisonings, assaults, accidents and drownings. They together accounted for one in five deaths for women aged 15-34. Women aged 35-54 Understandably, heart diseases and other diseases of the circulatory system are the main cause of deaths for this age group. 30% of women aged 35-54 died from such diseases, with diseases relating to 'pulmonary circulation' (increased blood flow to the lungs) responsible for 14%. Women aged 55-69 Heart and other circulatory system diseases become an even bigger threat as women grow older, with 41%, or two out of every five deaths down to such diseases. Diseases related to pulmonary circulation caused 16% with ischaemic heart diseases causing 13%. Ischaemic heart diseases, also known as coronary artery diseases, are diseases where blood flow is blocked by fatty deposits along the artery walls resulting in heart attacks or heart failure. Women over 70 Diseases of the circulatory system continue to be a major factor, being responsible for 45% of deaths. Of this 19% are related to ischaemic heart diseases and 16% to issues with pulmonary circulation. Going by these charts, we see that heart diseases are the biggest factor in women's health as they grow older, even more than infectious or respiratory diseases. Government interventions in public health would do well to keep that in mind.

Heart diseases are the biggest killer of Indian women

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