Signs of Cardiac Arrest to Watch Out For

Cardiac arrest is a severe a medical emergency. Call your local EMS number (911 in the United States) and ask for an ambulance if you suspect you or someone else is going through a heart attack or cardiac arrest. 

Cardiac morbidity and mortality remain major public health concerns in the United States and globally. The severity of heart diseases and their varied causes can make them difficult to manage. This is particularly prominent in the case of cardiac arrest because the survival rate after a cardiac arrest is around 7-10%. Staying aware of the risk factors and looking out for warning signs can help with prevention and control.

Early intervention by CPR and use of automated external defibrillators (AEDs) deployed immediately after cardiac arrest can vastly increase the chances of survival and save lives. 

What Is Cardiac Arrest And Why Does it Happen?

The American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology define cardiac arrest as the sudden cessation of cardiac activity, a loss of consciousness, abnormal breathing, and an absence of circulation. In simple words, it compromises the pumping activity of the heart and makes it ineffective.

Cardiac arrest and heart attack are terms that are often used interchangeably, but they do not refer to the same thing. A heart attack is when there is a block in blood flow to the heart, and cardiac arrest is when the heart stops beating suddenly. However, more than 70% of cardiac arrests happen due to a heart attack. Other cardiac and non-cardiac causes include:

  • Rhythm abnormalities
  • Congestive heart failure (weakening of your heart muscles)
  • Ventricular hypertrophy (abnormal dilatation of heart chambers)
  • Congenital cardiac abnormalities (heart defects at the time of birth)
  • Pulmonary embolism (blood clots in the lungs)
  • Drug overdose

What Are The Warning Signs To Look Out For?

The warning signs for cardiac arrest tend to be vague. Many patients also suffer from amnesia (memory loss) and hardly recall the events. However, some symptoms are dominant. 

According to an estimate, 80% of patients start experiencing symptoms more than an hour before the cardiac event. Out of these, in 93% of individuals, these signs are observable in 24 hours preceding sudden cardiac arrest. Therefore, if you know the warning signs, you can detect them early on and get the required medical attention. Some of the warning signs with their possible frequency of occurrence are given below:

  • Chest pain (48%); you might feel the sensation of pressure, squeezing, or fullness in the center of the chest. You may also experience discomfort in the left jaw, neck, shoulder, arm, and back
  • Shortness of breath (18%)
  • Syncope or loss of consciousness (5%)
  • Palpitation (5%); the sensation that you can feel your heart beating
  • Abdominal pain and diarrhea (20%)
  • Influenza-like symptoms (10%)

Sometimes these symptoms can overlap or occur at the same time. For instance, 33% of people with chest pain also experience shortness of breath before a cardiac arrest episode. You are more likely to face this with chest pain because other symptoms tend to happen in isolation.

If you have other medical conditions (diabetes, hypertension) or underlying heart conditions, they can also affect the manifestation of symptoms. Individuals with coronary heart disease are more likely to have chest pain. Similarly, shortness of breath is the dominant symptom in those with congestive heart failure. Palpitations often start four weeks before the event and occur episodically. If you are diabetic, you need to be vigilant because you may not feel chest pain due to neuropathy.

Are There Any Symptomatic Differences Between Males and Females?

There are significant differences in the trend of the appearance of symptoms in both sexes. For example, women are less likely to feel chest pain. The possibilities of each warning sign in males and females are listed below:

Symptoms

Males

Females

Chest pain

54%

24%

Shortness of breath

14%

31%

Palpitations

4%

7%

Flu-like symptoms

9%

12%


Cardiac Arrest: What to Do

1. Call 911 or your local emergency response number - emergency medical services can begin treatment as soon as they arrive.

2. Get a hold of an AED and use it immediately. The AED will take a reading of the patient's heart rhythm and automatically deploy a shock if needed. 

3. Perform CPR immediately until the emergency medical services arrives. If there are two bystanders available to help, one should use the AED and the other should begin CPR simultaneously until professional help arrives. 

What Does The Recovery From Cardiac Arrest Entail?

Although the survival and prognosis are , there are cases of full recovery after cardiac arrest. The recovery largely depends on the timely intervention and assurance of an effective chain of survival.

However, cardiac arrest is stressful for your body and can leave long-term after-effects even if the body makes a full recovery. The psychological impacts entail:

  • Anxiety (61%)
  • Depression (45%)
  • Post-traumatic stress syndrome (27%)

Fatigue is the most frequent long-term aftereffect of cardiac arrest and you may feel weak for days. This can be improved with a healthy diet and adequate social support.

Some victims of cardiac arrest may suffer a brain injury due to a lack of oxygen supply to the brain. This massively affects the cognitive function and quality of life. Some of the consequences of brain injury are:

  • Mood disturbances
  • Motor impairment
  • Difficult mobility
  • Personality changes
  • Unexpected emotional reactions

How Long Does It Take To Get Back To Normal Life?

There is a dire need for further research and development of therapeutic strategies to improve the neurological outcome in survivors of cardiac arrest.

The road to recovery depends on the severity of brain damage, quality of treatment provided immediately, and rehabilitative services. However, it also depends on you and your willpower. The harder you try, the earlier will you get back to normal life.

Excellent social support, a healthy diet, and lifestyle, and regular medical attention can reduce the recovery time significantly. So, keeping a positive outlook and appreciating each small development in your recovery make a huge difference.

About The Myra Logan Heart Fund

AEDs save lives. Of the 424,000 cases of out-of-hospital cardiac arrests that happen annually in the United States, only 10% of victims survive. The chances of survival increase from 6% to 74% if an AED (Automated External Defibrillator) is used to deliver shock therapy within three to five minutes of a heart attack, but tragically only a tiny fraction of cardiac arrest victims in the United States ever get the immediate help they need.

The Myra Logan Heart Fund’s mission is to get an AED in every classroom and into every home. Its purpose is to educate the public about the importance of AEDs, increase their accessibility, and empower people to save lives.

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