The difference between cardiac arrest and a heart attack

July 2, 2009 - "The difference between cardiac arrest and a heart attack" By Joseph Parish. With the passing of Michael Jackson recently there has been a lot of commentary on what the difference is between cardiac arrest and a heart attack, if anything. The word on the street these days is whether they are the same thing with merely a different name? Why do they refer to it as cardiac arrest in place of a heart attack? Click here