A cardiac arrest can best be described as a sudden and abrupt loss of heart function. This can occur in a person regardless of whether they have been diagnosed with heart disease but if this occurs suddenly and unexpectedly, it is called sudden cardiac arrest. Unfortunately, many people are prone to sudden deaths that occur usually within minutes after the initial symptoms. There are many reasons that a person can die suddenly from cardiac arrest, but the most common is if the patient suffers from cardiovascular disease.
Sudden death caused by cardiac arrest usually occurs because the electrical impulses in the heart become extremely fast. This is known as ventricular tachycardia. If the electrical impulses becomes extremely chaotic, is called to ventricular fibrillation. An arrhythmia or irregular heart rhythm makes the heart to suddenly stop beating. Bradycardia is when a cardiac arrest occurs because the heart has slowed down the right. There are many factors, other than heart disease and heart attacks that are known to cause cardiac arrest. These include suffocation, electrocution, respiratory arrest and trauma.
In as little as 4 to 6 minutes after cardiac arrest begins both brain death and permanent death. But cardiac arrest are reversible if treated within minutes. This is usually done by giving the patient an electrical shock to the heart to restore a normal heartbeat. This process is called defibrillation. Unfortunately decreases for every minute that passes where a patient does not receive CPR and defibrillation, the chance of survival by 10%. You find that very few attempts to resuscitate a patient will succeed after a period of 10 minutes or more.
There are no official statistics showing the number of cardiac arrests that occur around the world each year, but it is estimated that over 95% of people who suffer cardiac arrest will die before they reach the hospital. If defibrillation can be given to victims within five to seven minutes, 45% chance of survival. You'll actually find that dramatically reduces the death rate of young people suffering from a cardiac arrest. But we have many reports in the press over the years where young athletes have died due to cardiac arrest. The most common cause of death from cardiac arrest in young people is hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. This is where the walls of the ventricle is far larger than they should be, and in most cases this type of heart disease is hereditary. Unfortunately, the pumping Chamber of the heart far less than it needs to be, and therefore the heart must work much harder to pump blood around the body.
Death by cardiac arrest can be prevented and is most commonly associated with those who suffer from heart diseases. Among the most vulnerable are women aged 40 years or over as either smoke, suffer from high blood pressure or diabetes. Another well-known risk is syncope, which is where an individual will suffer the loss of consciousness or fainting. There are many different reasons why someone might faint, will be most important that they have an abnormal heart rhythm. Then there is always the fear that the next episode can cause cardiac arrest.
You will find that the frequency of sudden cardiac arrest is very related to the actual frequency of coronary artery disease. To reduce the risk of sudden death, it is likely that many more public health initiative must be inserted. It makes a lot of sense that if the adult population is increasingly aware of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, the appropriate screening and action can occur, thus reducing the risk of death.
Current statistics show that around 335,000 Americans die each year of cardiac arrest. Doctors have issued a "chain of survival" that should be followed to give the best chance for survival.
The first step is to recognize the signs of either a heart attack or heart arrestImmediately call 911 or the emergency servicesCPR should be running immediatelyThe victims will need to be treated with an electric defibrillator as soon as possible, although it is most usually done by paramedicsThe victim gets some sort of advanced care, again usually from a medic, as a mounted breathing tube. They should then be taken to the hospital.It is of the utmost importance that this sequence of events is followed if you think someone is suffering a cardiac arrest.