Importance And How To Prevent Cardiac Arrest

 

Sudden cardiac arrest is not the same as a heart attack. Sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) is not the same as a heart attack. A heart attack (also called myocardial infarction, or MI) occurs when the blood flow that brings oxygen to the heart is reduced or completely blocked, resulting in damage or death of part of the heart muscle. During a heart attack, a victim may be conscious and can complain about symptoms they experience. The person may be awake and the heart is still beating.

With the sudden unbelievable passing away of Stephen Keshi, Amodu Shuaibu due to cardiac or heart related causes, we are now all asking what the risk of suddenly dying from cardiac arrest at one’s prime.

Sudden cardiac arrest is a leading cause of death for adults over the age of 40. According to a report in the U.S., about 326,200 people experience out-of-hospital sudden cardiac arrest, and only about 10% survive. SCA is the leading cause of death among adults age 40 and older worldwide. The number of people who die annually from SCA is about the same as the combined total number of people who die from Alzheimer’s disease, assault with firearms, breast cancer, cervical cancer, colorectal cancer, diabetes, HIV, house fires, motor vehicle accidents, prostate cancer, and suicides.
Ventricular fibrillation (v-fib) is the most common reason for sudden cardiac arrest deaths. The lower chambers of the heart (ventricles) quiver which results in the heart pumping little to no blood. The person passes out, and can die within minutes if the v-fib is not treated immediately. In contrast, in a sudden cardiac arrest, there is an electrical malfunction in the heart that causes it to suddenly stop beating. The victim will suddenly lose consciousness. In an SCA, the person is not awake, and the heart has stopped beating.

A heart attack may cause damage to the heart that leads to cardiac arrest, but they are not the same. Sudden cardiac arrest means the heart has stopped beating. Sudden cardiac arrest is a life-threatening condition that results in death in 9 out of 10 cases. It is caused by an electrical malfunction in the heart, called ventricular fibrillation. This abnormality acts like a “short circuit” within the heart, causing it to suddenly stop beating.
Sudden cardiac arrest is subtle, and bystanders will usually notice what has occurred. It has noticeable symptoms, a person having an SCA will suddenly lose consciousness (faint) and will appear lifeless, except for making “gasping” sounds or movements, and the person will have no perceptible pulse or heartbeat. In some cases, victims can experience seizures (shaking of the arms and legs) for 10 to 20 seconds
Death is best treated by prevention. Most sudden death is associated with heart disease, so the at-risk population remains males older than 40 years of age who smoke, have high blood pressure, and diabetes (the risk factors for heart attack). Other risks include syncope (fainting or loss of consciousness) and known heart disease.
Syncope, or loss of consciousness, is a significant risk factor for sudden death. While some reasons for passing out are benign, there is always a concern that the reason was an abnormal heart rhythm that subsequently spontaneously corrected. The fear is that the next episode will be a sudden cardiac arrest. Depending on the healthcare provider’s suspicion based on the patient’s history, physical examination, laboratory tests, and EKG, the healthcare practitioner may recommend inpatient or outpatient heart monitoring to try to find a clue as to whether the passing out was due to a deadly heart rhythm. Unfortunately, the potentially suspect rhythm may not recur and depending on the situation, prolonged outpatient monitoring lasting weeks and months may be necessary. Use of electrophysiologic testing may help identify high risk patients (the electrical pathways are mapped using techniques similar to heart catheterization).
In people with symptoms of chest pain, aside from making the diagnosis, monitoring both the heart rate and rhythm are emphasized. The purpose of watching people with chest pain in a hospital setting is to prevent sudden cardiac arrest.
Using implantable defibrillators in high risk patients, especially those with markedly decreased ejection fractions can reduce the incidence of sudden cardiac arrest. These devices are placed under the skin in the chest wall and have wires that are attached to the heart itself. When they detect ventricular fibrillation, a shock is automatically delivered to the heart, restoring a heart beat and averting sudden death.