Cardiac arrest is the sudden loss of all heart activity due to an irregular heart rhythm. The person becomes unconscious and breathing stops. Without immediate treatment, cardiac arrest may lead to death.
Cardiac arrest is different from a heart attack. A heart attack happens when blood flow to the heart is blocked while cardiac arrest is caused by a change is the heart's electrical activity.
Emergency treatment for sudden cardiac arrest includes performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and applying shocks to the heart with a device called an automated external defibrillator (AED). With quick, appropraite medical care, surviving a sudden cardiac arrest is possible.
Symptoms of sudden cardiac arrest are immediate and severe, including:
Before a sudden cardiac arrest, you may experience symptoms such as:
However, sudden cardiac arrest may also occur without any prior warning. If you experience symptoms such as chest pain or discomfort, pounding heartbeats, irregular or rapid heartbeats or unexplained wheezing, do seek emergency medical services.
Electrical signals in the heart controls
Sudden cardiac arrest is caused by changes to the heart's electrical activity, these changes causes the heart to stop pumping blood. If these electrical signals turn faulty or extra signals occur, it may cause the heart to beat too fast, too slow or in an uncoordinated way. These changes to the heartbeat are called arrhythmias. Some arrhythmias are brief and harmless while others may cause sudden cardiac arrest.
The most common cause of sudden cardiac arrest is an irregular heart rhythm called ventricular fibrillation. This causes the lower heart chambers to quiver uselessly instead of pumping blood. Although existing heart conditions can make you more likely to have an irregular heartbeat, it is possible for sudden cardiac arrest to occur in people with no known heart disease.
Some heart conditions that may cause sudden cardiac arrest include:
The same risk factors that increases your risk of heart disease may also increase your risk of a sudden cardiac arrest. These factors include:
Other factors that may increase your risk include:
Here are steps you can take to keep your heart healthy:
If you have a known risk of cardiac arrest, your healthcare provider may recomend a heart device known as an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD). This device will be placed under your collarbone.
Blood Tests
A blood tests will be used to test for the presence of certain heart proteins that leak into the blood after heart damage from a heart attack, as well as potassium, magnesium, hormones and other body chemicals.
Electrocardiogram
Used to measure the electrical activity of the heart, and ECG will be able to tell how fast or slow a heart is beating and can show changes in the heartbeat that increases the risk of sudden cardiac arrest.
Imaging Tests
A chest X-ray may be performed to observe the size and shape of your heart and lungs, it may also show whether you have heart failure.
Cardiac Nuclear Stress Test
A Cardiac Nuclear Stress Test may be done to see changes in the blood flow to the heart. Tiny amounts of radioactive material called tracers are injected and observed through special cameras as it flows through the heart and lungs.
