In this video, you’ll find Dr. Aarush Manchanda, a forward-thinking cardiologist, tackling an age-old question – are all heart attacks the same?

When people say they’re “having a heart attack” it’s not something you can generalize because the root cause of this problem could be something very different. And to throw light on this subject, Dr. Manchanda uses his heart house analogy, which describes the heart as having a number of similar features to a house, e.g. plumbing and electricity.

Understanding What Causes Heart Attacks

When Dr. Manchanda refers to plumbing problems in the heart, he’s talking about the arteries and veins, with common problems being coronary heart disease (CAD). And when he discusses electricity problems, he’s referring to issues with the heartbeat or rhythm of the heart, such as palpitations, atrial fibrillation, or arrhythmias.

Using this analogy, Dr. Manchanda helps to explain things to his patients in layman’s terms, enabling them to understand what’s happened to their heart (e.g. a heart attack), or what could happen if they don’t make significant lifestyle changes.

Not All Heart Attacks are the Same

Even though there’s a significant difference between the electrical and plumbing problems, it doesn’t necessarily mean a heart attack’s been caused by one or the other. For example, if you suffer from atrial fibrillation (or atrial flutter), sometimes, this doesn’t have to come from a plumbing problem or a heart attack.

And that’s why Dr. Manchanda’s using his analogy to help people understand their hearts because it’s crucial people are aware that not every disease needs treating in the same way. Different people will react differently to various treatments, and others will have different symptoms to someone else. A personalized medicine approach is what’s required in modern-day medicine.

For example, someone with atrial fibrillation may be able to wait, but if someone’s in the middle of an acute heart attack, time is muscle. This idea that time is muscle is something else that Dr. Manchanda refers to in his book because, at this stage, doctors need to make sure they’re getting the artery open so there’s no long-term muscle damage.

This is just one of the ways of highlighting how each patient’s case is unique, and that the current medical practice of “one size fits all” isn’t providing the right treatment or awareness for patients. Dr. Manchanda hopes that, through his analogies, he’ll help people to understand heart problems, like heart attacks, so patients become part of the decision-making process with their doctors.