Sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) occurs when an arrhythmia causes the heart to stop beating. It is not the same as a heart attack, in which the heart continues to beat, but blood flow to the heart is cut off.
Several factors can cause SCA. Physical stress, coronary heart disease, and inherited disorders are all contributing factors. In some cases, the cause of SCA is unknown.
Without medical attention, a person won’t survive for more than a few minutes. Early defibrillation can reduce the risk of death. A defibrillator shocks the heart to restore its normal rhythm. A person with SCA should be given cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) until defibrillation can be performed.
Using an implantable cardiac defibrillator (ICD) reduces the risk of a second SCA.
The majority of people don’t know the difference between SCA and a heart attack. Getting the right information is crucial because for immediate action during emergency situations.
The symptoms of a heart attack and a cardiac arrest are not the same.
There is an abrupt interruption of blood flow to the heart during a heart attack. This may cause chest pain and result in permanent heart damage. However, as long as the person is conscious and breathing, the heart pumps blood throughout the body.
Cardiac arrest occurs when the heart ceases to pump blood throughout the body. During a cardiac arrest, a person loses consciousness and stops breathing or stops breathing normally. It is always fatal if CPR is not applied immediately.
People who suffer a heart attack are at a high risk of suffering a cardiac arrest.
In both cases, immediate medical attention can prevent a life-threatening situation. Let’s have a look at the key differences between both conditions separately:
Symptoms of Cardiac Arrest
Immediate and drastic symptoms characterize a sudden cardiac arrest.
- An abrupt collapse
- No pulse
- No breathing
- Unconscious
Other signs and symptoms sometimes precede a sudden cardiac arrest. They can include fatigue, fainting, blackouts, dizziness, shortness of breath, palpitations, weakness, and vomiting. However, it can occur without warning.
Causes of Cardiac Arrest
The leading cause of cardiac arrest occurs when your ventricles quiver uselessly due to an arrhythmia called ventricular fibrillation. The majority of times, arrhythmias that cause cardiac arrest do not occur independently.
An individual with a normal, healthy heart is unlikely to develop an irregular heart rhythm unless an outside trigger is present, such as an electrical shock, the use of illegal drugs, or trauma to the chest during just the wrong phase of the heart’s cycle.
Sudden cardiac arrest can occur due to several conditions. Most life-threatening arrhythmias occur in individuals with underlying heart conditions, such as:
Coronary artery disease
People with coronary artery disease are most likely to suffer sudden cardiac arrests. This is because cholesterol and other deposits build up in your arteries, restricting blood flow to your heart. As a result, your heart has trouble conducting electrical impulses smoothly.
You may also be at risk for sudden cardiac arrest due to the following factors:
- If you or a family member have suffered a cardiac arrest before
- A previous heart attack
- A history of heart disease of any kind, including heart rhythm disorders, congenital defects, heart failure, and cardiomyopathy
- Age – a sudden cardiac arrest is more likely to occur as older.
- The risk or SCA increases two to three times for men compared to women.
- in persons who use illegal drugs, such as cocaine or amphetamines
- an imbalance of nutrients, such as low potassium or magnesium
Heart attacks are often caused by severe coronary artery disease, triggering ventricular fibrillation and sudden cardiac arrest. Furthermore, heart attacks can produce scar tissue. Electrical short circuits around scar tissue may cause an abnormal heart rhythm. Following conditions can lead to a heart attack:
Enlarged heart (cardiomyopathy)
The condition is caused primarily by an expansion or thickening of the muscular walls of your heart. Often, both of these conditions cause damage to your heart’s muscle, leading to potential arrhythmias and heart tissue damage.
Valvular heart disease
Heart valve leaks or narrowing can cause your heart muscle to stretch or thicken. In addition, an arrhythmia is more likely to occur if the chambers become enlarged or weak due to a tight or leaky valve’s causes.
Congenital heart disease
Children and adolescents who suffer sudden cardiac arrest may have a heart condition at birth (congenital heart disease). Although adults with congenital heart defects still have a higher risk of sudden cardiac arrest, corrective surgery can reduce this risk.
Electrical problems in the heart
Sometimes, the problem in the heart is in the electrical system itself rather than in the heart muscles or valves. For example, a primary heart rhythm abnormality may include conditions like Brugada’s syndrome or long QT syndrome.
Because a sudden cardiac arrest is so often accompanied by coronary artery disease, the same risk factors that put you at risk for coronary artery disease may also put you at risk for sudden cardiac arrest. This includes:
- The presence of a family history of coronary artery disease
- Smoking
- High blood pressure
- High blood cholesterol
- Obesity
- Diabetes
- A sedentary lifestyle
Complications
As a result of sudden cardiac arrest, your brain is the first organ to suffer since, unlike other organs, it has no reserve of oxygen-rich blood. A steady supply of blood is essential to its survival—unconsciousness results from reduced blood flow to the brain.
Heart rhythms that do not return to normal quickly cause brain damage and death. Most people do not survive sudden cardiac arrest beyond 8 minutes. Those who do survive may show signs of brain damage.
BOTTOM LINE
If you receive the right treatment quickly, you can survive and recover from a cardiac arrest.
An electric shock through the chest wall is sometimes needed to correct VF. Defibrillators can be used in an ambulance or hospital. Or a public member can use one at the scene of a cardiac arrest if a local defibrillator is available.
The immediate use of CPR will allow oxygen to circulate the body until the defibrillator can be utilized and/or until the ambulance arrives.
