What is Sudden Cardiac Arrest and is it the same as a Heart Attack?

What is Sudden Cardiac Arrest and is it the same as a Heart Attack? Related Information:

Many people use the terms cardiac arrest and heart attack interchangeably. They are two distinct conditions of the heart and do not even have the same signs and symptoms. Sudden cardiac arrest is sometimes referred to as sudden cardiac death because if a person does not receive immediate medical help, death will occur very quickly. In this type of medical emergency the heart stops beating and pumping blood to the brain. The cause is attributed to arrhythmias of the heart in which the heart starts to beat erratically and out of pattern. There are various types of arrhythmias, but the one that most commonly causes sudden cardiac arrest is ventricular fibrillation.

Even though a person who is having a heart attack may experience abnormal heart rhythms, a heart attack is not the same thing as cardiac arrest. A heart attack is caused by a blockage in an artery so that the blood flow cannot reach the heart muscle and it starts to die. There are warning signs and symptoms of an impending heart attack, which include:

Pain in the chest, jaw or upper abdomen

Excessive sweating

Nausea

There are few symptoms with cardiac arrest because it happens so suddenly. Heart attack victims remain conscious, while victims of cardiac arrest lose consciousness and there is no pulse.

Sudden cardiac arrest is one of the leading causes of death and two out of three deaths occur before the patient reaches the hospital. It is unpredictable and no one is immune to the possibility of having cardiac arrest. Although the risk increases as people get older and if they have had previous heart attacks, the majority of people who die from this condition have never had a problem with the heart.

While heart attacks can be cured with medication and surgery to remove the blockages, the only way to treat sudden cardiac arrest is by using a defibrillator. This is a device that uses shock waves to force the heart to resume its normal pattern of beating and pumping blood. If the defibrillator is not used within minutes after the attack, the patient will die. Even if CPR is started immediately the more time that elapses before the defibrillator is used, the less chance the patient has of surviving.

There is a treatment model to be followed if a person suffers a cardiac arrest:

Call for help. If you suspect that a person may be having a cardiac arrest, you have to call for help immediately.

Start CPR. If you have First Aid start CPR immediately while you are waiting for help to arrive.

Use a defibrillator. The defibrillator will send shock waves through the patient’s chest into the walls of the heart to jolt it back onto a normal pattern.

Treatment. This includes airway support, medication and hospital services.

A person who has a cardiac arrest will not have a pulse because the heart has stopped. If the patient even has a weak pulse, you should never use a defibrillator. This device also requires that anyone who may be able to touch the patient in any way be moved out of the way. When the shock waves go through the patient, they may also go through someone who is touching any part of the body and cause serious damage to that person’s health.

Many doctors recommend the use of implantable defibrillators in people who have had cardiac arrest or at serious risk of having it. These devices are surgically inserted in the patient’s chest to monitor the heartbeat and correct any changes that occur.