Cardiac Arrest
Valarie Phong and Erin Ramsay
CARDIAC ARREST
-NOT the same as a heart attack, heart attacks may lead to heart disease but they are not the same thing.
-Heart attacks are caused by blockage that stops blood flow into the heart.
-Cardiac Arrest is caused by malfunctions in the heart's electrical system.
SYMPTOMS
Major:
- sudden collapse
- no pulse
- no breathing
- loss of consciousness
(can also include fatigue, fainting, blackouts, dizziness, chest pain, shortness of breath, weakness, palpitations or vomiting)
DIANOSIS
-Cardiac arrests are very sudden with no warnings and require immediate emergency treatment.
-Most cardiac arrests are diagnosed after it occurs by doctors ruling out causes of the sudden collapse.
-Imaging tests
-x-ray
-Echocardiogram (uses sound waves to produce an image of your heart)
Nuclear scan
TREATMENT
-Needs to be performed within minutes of the occurrence because the chances of surviving drop rapidly with every minute that passes
Other treatments include:
-Medications to stabilize heart rhythm
-Implantable Cardioverter-defibrillator (battery powered unit that is put under your left -collarbone to monitor the heart rhythm)
-Coronary Bypass Surgery (improves blood flow to the heart)
-Radiofrequency catheter ablation (machine used to send energy to the heart)
-Corrective heart surgery
-Coronary angioplasty (procedure used to widen blocked or narrowed coronary arteries)
PROGNOSIS
-If not treated immediately, death will result.
- Cardiac Arrest chances increase:
-the older a person gets
-Men more likely than women
-African Americans have a higher risk