Sudden cardiac arrest occurs when the electrical activity of the heart stops occurring, and as a result, the muscle cannot contract, preventing blood from flowing to other parts of the body.
Then, although it may sound similar, a sudden cardiac arrest is different from a heart attack, because in the latter case, a small clot occurs that clogs the arteries of the heart and prevents the heart muscle from receiving the blood and oxygen needed for its functioning. driving to the lock. Learn more about your heart attack and why it happens.
- People who experience sudden cardiac arrest often faint immediately and stop showing their pulse.
- When this happens.
- You should call medical care right away.
- Call 192 and start a heart massage to replace heart function and increase your chances of survival.
- In the following video:.
Although more studies on sudden cardiac arrest are still needed, most cases seem to occur in people who already had some type of heart condition, especially arrhythmias, so the medical community indicates certain causes that can increase the risk of this problem :
Most cardiac arrhythmias are not life threatening and allow a good quality of life when properly treated; however, there are rarer cases in which ventricular fibrillation arrhythmia can occur, which is malignant and can cause sudden heart failure.
Possible Symptoms: Arrhythmias often cause a lump in the throat, cold sweat, dizziness, and frequent shortness of breath. In these cases, it is necessary to go to the cardiologist to evaluate the arrhythmia and find out its type. Better understand what arrhythmia is and when it can be serious.
How to treat it: Treatment is usually with medications, but in some cases surgery may be needed to restore the normal rhythm of the heart. Regular appointments and examinations with your cardiologist are the best way to keep your arrhythmia under control and avoid complications.
Several cases of sudden cardiac arrest occur in people with coronary artery disease, which occurs when arteries have cholesterol plaques that prevent blood from passing into the heart, which can end up affecting the heart muscle and electric rhythm.
Possible symptoms: fatigue when performing simple tasks such as climbing stairs, cold sweats, dizziness or frequent nausea. Learn how to identify and treat coronary heart disease.
How to treat: Treatment should be guided by a cardiologist on a case-by-case basis, but usually includes regular physical activity, a healthy diet, and medications to control pressure or diabetes, for example.
Although this is one of the rarer causes, too much stress or too much exercise can also cause sudden cardiac arrest. This is especially true for those who already have a history of heart disease due to increased levels of adrenaline or decreased levels of potassium and magnesium in the body, which affect the electrical activity of the heart.
Possible symptoms: when there is an excess of adrenaline, an increase in heart rate can occur and, therefore, it is very common to experience frequent palpitations, in the absence of potassium and magnesium excessive fatigue, tremors, nervousness and difficulty falling asleep occur. more common.
How to treat: Generally, you need to supplement with magnesium or potassium to balance the levels of these minerals in the body.
A sedentary lifestyle is a factor that greatly increases the risk of any type of heart problem, including the development of sudden cardiac arrest. In fact, lack of exercise leads to weight gain and consequent increased heart strain.
In addition, people with a sedentary lifestyle are also more likely to have other bad habits, such as smoking, excessive consumption of alcoholic beverages, or a diet high in fats and carbohydrates, which eventually increases. the risk of any heart problems.
How to treat: To avoid a sedentary lifestyle, you should perform moderate physical exercise at least 3 times a week and for 30 minutes, this is walking at a moderate pace or participating in other physical activities such as going to the gym, doing aquagym or participating in dance classes. Discover 5 simple tips to try to combat sedentary lifestyle.
There is still no medical consensus on whether or not to predict the development of cardiac arrest, knowing only that symptoms appear suddenly and the heart stops beating.
However, some studies indicate that more than half of people who suffered sudden cardiac arrest had symptoms such as constant chest pain, shortness of breath, dizziness, palpitations, excessive fatigue, or nausea. until a few days ago.
Thus, if there is such a symptom, which does not improve in a few hours, a family doctor or cardiologist should be consulted, especially if there is a history of heart problems, and an electrocardiogram should be performed to assess electrical activity. heart.
In addition to the above causes, people at increased risk for sudden cardiac arrest generally have factors such as:
In these cases, it is still important to have regular visits to the cardiologist to assess heart health and determine if there is a disease to treat.