WHY IS CARDIAC ARREST LIFE-THREATENING?
Cardiac arrest happens when the there is an electrical problem, between the brain and the Sinus Atrial node of the heart. The heart is unable to receive the electrical impulse from the brain, that signals the heart to keep on beating. When this happens, the heart stops beating and is unable to pump oxygen rich blood & nutrients throughout the body to vital organs such as: brain, heart, lungs etc.
The person that is experiencing the cardiac arrest, stops breathing, is unconscious and are not responsive. When in cardiac arrest, you only have 3 minutes to survive, therefor cardiac arrest is life threatening.
Cardiac arrest is an electrical problem, therefor physiological medicine will not help a person’s heart to beat again.
Cardiac arrest may be caused by almost any known heart condition.
Most cardiac arrests occur when a diseased heart’s electrical system malfunctions. This malfunction causes an abnormal heart rhythm such as ventricular tachycardia or ventricular fibrillation. Some cardiac arrests are also caused by extreme slowing of the heart’s rhythm (bradycardia).
Irregular heartbeats such as these that can cause cardiac arrest should be considered life-threatening arrhythmias.
Other causes of cardiac arrest include:
- Scarring of the heart tissue
- Cardiomyopathy
- Heart medications
- Electrical abnormalities
- Blood vessel abnormalities
- Recreational Drug use
The ONLY successful way to treat a person in cardiac arrest, is with CPR ( Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation) and defibrillation( shock) with an AED ( Automated External Defibrillation)
Anyone can save a life in the event of a cardiac arrest. start doing CPR & get the AED to provide a shock to patient’s heart.