What You Need to Know About Cardiac Arrests

Electric impulses control your brain. If the electrical impulses change their pattern, the heartbeats become irregular. Irregular heartbeats are known as arrhythmia. Arrhythmias can be slow or rapid. When the rhythm stops, your heart stops beating and causes a cardiac arrest.

Since a cardiac arrest is a severe health issue, you should consider emergency medical care to reduce the risks of fatalities. If the attack does not cause death, it might cause a disability in your body. Therefore, seeking emergency care services near you should be the way to go.

Causes of Cardiac Arrest

Several factors can cause cardiac arrest. Some of the major factors include atrial and ventricular fibrillation.

Ventricular Fibrillation

Ventricular fibrillation occurs when the two lower chambers of the heart quiver out of control. When ventricular fibrillation occurs, it causes the heart rhythms to change dramatically. The ventricles start pumping inefficiently, severely decreasing the amount of blood pumped to the body. Sometimes blood flow stops abruptly, causing cardiac death.

Atrial Fibrillation

The upper chambers can also fail to pump blood after an arrhythmia. The atrial fibrillation starts when the sinoatrial node fails to send the correct electrical impulses. When the electrical impulses go to the atrial fibrillation, the ventricles fail to pump blood efficiently, causing a cardiac arrest.

Complications Associated With Cardiac Arrest

Some health conditions can increase the risk of cardiac arrest. They include:

Coronary Heart Disease

When your coronary arteries get blocked by fat or any other debris in the bloodstream, the heart’s blood supply might be affected. With interrupted blood supply to the heart, it might stop beating correctly.

Irregular Heart Valves

Valve disease can make the valves on your heart leaky or narrower. Therefore, the blood circulating through the heart might overload the chambers or fail to fill them to the expected capacity. Irregular blood flow through the chambers causes the ventricles to weaken and eventually collapse, causing a heart attack.

Congenital Heart Disease

Some people are born with heart problems such as an enlarged heart. Such heart conditions can cause a sudden cardiac arrest, especially among children.

Signs and Symptoms of Cardiac Arrest

The early symptoms of cardiac arrest are warning signs. Therefore, if you experience the following symptoms, you should seek medical care services to reduce the risk of complications:

• Dizziness
• Shortness of breath
• Body weakness or fatigue
• Vomiting
• Heart palpitations

Some of the severe signs and symptoms of cardiac arrest that might compel you to seek emergency medical care include:

• Chest pains
• Absence of pulse
• Collapsing
• Loss of consciousness
• Difficulties breathing

A cardiac arrest might not have symptoms initially. Therefore, you should check for the signs above to appear and seek medical care immediately.

Diagnosis

During the event of a cardiac arrest, you should focus on seeking medical help. Medical help will focus on restoring blood flow in the body. To diagnose the condition, your doctor might recommend an electrocardiogram. The electrocardiogram test enables the doctor to identify the type of abnormal rhythm you are experiencing.

Your doctor might also recommend other treatments such as chest x-rays and blood tests to check potassium and magnesium levels in blood.

Cardiac Arrest Treatment at an ER near Me

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation comes in handy to prevent further complications in the event of a cardiac arrest. Defibrillation can also be helpful before you receive medical care. However, the above treatments are only for restoring your heartbeat if it has stopped.

If you survive a cardiac arrest, the doctor will recommend the following treatments:

• Medications to lower your blood pressure and cholesterol levels
• Surgery to repair the damaged blood vessels and remove blood clots and debris in the bloodstream.
• Exercise to improve cardiovascular fitness
• Dietary changes to lower cholesterol levels in the body

The Takeaway

An event of cardiac arrest can be fatal. However, if you get medical care near you immediately, you reduce the risk of fatality. Treatments are most effective if you get them a few minutes after the attack.

Emergency Room Near Me

Are you a resident of Baytown and in need of emergency care services? If you need emergency medical care, at Altus Emergency Center, we provide medical care services round the clock to ensure we promote health and save lives.