Decatur is a small city located in northeastern Georgia, just 5 miles northeast of Atlanta. The city was founded in 1823 at the intersection of two Native American trails and named after US naval hero Stephen Decatur.
The main function of a head gasket is to hold engine compression while keeping oil and coolant circulation separate. Undetected blown head gaskets cause coolant and oil mixing, which could lead to severe engine damage, such as engine block cracking.
Low compression does not necessarily mean a blown head gasket, but it is a good indicator if there is a sharp drop in compression on one or two cylinders, with no drop in the others. Sometimes a blown head gasket will cause a whistling or wheezing sound, but not always.