Comprehensive Guide: What Causes Sudden Cardiac Arrest?

Sudden cardiac arrest is common. In this article, you will learn more about sudden cardiac arrest and how you can avoid it.

Sudden cardiac arrest happens by the disruption of the functioning of the heart suddenly. The condition is caused by an electrical disturbance in your heart which can disrupt the flow of blood in your body. There is a difference between cardiac attack and cardiac arrest. A heart attack refers to the blockage of one part of the heart. However, the occurrence of an attack can sometimes cause a cardiac arrest.

Action should be taken immediately when it occurs so that it cannot lead to death. CPR skills should be put in use and if you lack the skills, you should seek BLS CPR certification online.

What are the Common Symptoms?

Collapsing of an individual suddenly can occur when under sudden cardiac arrest

Losing consciousness

Lack of a pulse and loss of breath

What You Need to Do When You See Someone who is Unconscious?

The first thing you need to do is to call the emergency number in your location.

Begin performing CPR on the victim if they are not breathing properly. Push the chest of the patient and carry out about 100-120 compressions in a minute. If you have CPR skills, begin by clearing the airway of the victim and give them rescue breaths.

If you do not have CPR skills, continue carrying out the compressions. Make sure you leave the chest to rise before carrying out a compression. Continue carrying out this until the emergency services arrive or until you get a defibrillator.

If a portable defibrillator is available, you can also use it. Make sure you follow the instructions provided by the device. Keep on carrying out the chest compressions as the defibrillator is charging. Proceed to deliver one shock to the patient using the device. Resume the CPR and it should be carried out with chest compressions for about 2 minutes.

The defibrillator can also be used to check the heart rhythm of the victim. Make sure you repeat the cycle continues until the person recovers.

Causes of Cardiac Arrest

Cardiac arrest is caused by a problem in the electrical system of your heart. This electrical system controls the heart rate. If something goes wrong with the system, your heart will beat slowly or too fast.

There are also certain heart conditions which can cause cardiac arrest and they are listed below.

The Occurrence of Heart Attack- A heart attack can sometimes lead to sudden cardiac arrest. It will leave scars within your heart which will cause short electrical circuits causing abnormalities in your body.

Enlarged Heart- It happens when the muscular walls of the heart enlarge. It will make the muscles of the heart to become abnormal causing problems to the heart rhythm.

Attack by Coronary Artery Disease- Most of the cases of cardiac arrest will occur due to coronary disease. The arteries will become clogged with substances such as cholesterol which will reduce the flow of blood in your heart.

One of the common ways of saving the life of a victim is by carrying out CPR. You can learn more about CPR by opting for BLS CPR certification online.