Sudden Cardiac Arrest Essay

Another word used to describe a heart attack is myocardial infarction, cardiac infarction and coronary thrombosis. A heart attack is the death of a part of the heart caused by the loss of blood supply. The blood supply is usually gone due to a coronary artery being blocked by a blood clot. When a part of a heart artery breaks a blood clot forms around the piece. This blood clot can block the blood flow through the heart muscle. When the heart muscle needs oxygen it is called ischemia. When damage of a part of the heart muscle happens it’s called a heart attack. During a heart attack damage occurs depending on the size of the area blocked by the blood clot as well as the time between the actual heart attack and the treatment. Even though the heart may be hurt, the rest of the organs work with no problems. However, it will not pump as much blood as it used to in order to supply the same amount of blood to all of the parts of the body.

Mr. Thomas’ has been diagnosed with an acute myocardial infarction (MI). A myocardial infarction is an “infarct of heart muscle caused by occlusion of one or more of coronary arteries” (Frucht, 2012 P.125). The common name for Mr. Thomas’ condition is a heart attack. A heart attack occurs if the flow of oxygen-rich blood to a section of heart muscle suddenly becomes blocked ( ). If the blood flow is not restored quickly, then that section of the heart muscle begins to die. Heart attacks have become the leading killer of both men and women in the United States. The main cause of heart attacks has

What is cardiac arrest? “According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), sudden cardiac arrest is when the heart suddenly stops beating, resulting in no blood flow to the brain and other vital organs.” .This occurs instantly leading to unexpected death. People tend to confuse a heart attack and cardiac arrest with one another (pause)... a heart attack can lead to cardiac arrest, but they are completely different. What is a heart attack? A heart attack is caused from a blockage of blood flow to the heart muscles. (pause)

Congestive Heart Failure, also known as "cardiac decompensation, cardiac insufficiency, and cardiac incompetence," (Basic Nursing 1111) is an imbalance in pump function in which the heart is failing and unable to do its work pumping enough blood to meet the needs of the body's other organs. To some people, heart failure is defined as a sudden and complete stoppage of heart activity—i.e. that the heart just stops beating. This is an inaccuracy. Heart failure usually develops slowly, often over years, as the heart gradually loses its pumping ability and works less efficiently. CHF is a syndrome that affects individuals in different ways and to different degrees. It is usually a chronic disease. It gradually

“When I was out those 20 minutes, I saw a man who had long ruffled hair and kind of a thick beard, and it didn’t take me long to realise that that was Jesus,” Zack told CBS DFW.Sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) is not the same as a heart attack. A heart attack occurs if blood flow to part of the heart muscle is blocked. During a heart attack, the heart usually doesn’t suddenly stop beating.

The heart in many cases does not have a correct beat and can cause symptoms like fainting, chest pain, heart fluttering, etc (WebMd.com). In some cases, Arrhythmia can be major as it can sometimes cause immediate heart failure or cardiac arrest (MedicineNet.com). The last main condition of cardiovascular diseases are strokes (Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention). A stroke is a point where the brain has an interruption of a blood supply (usually are blood clots). Strokes can block the blood that flows to the heart and can result in heart attacks, cardiac arrest, dizziness, slurred speech, etc (Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention). All of these conditions are the main aspects of cardiovascular disease (WebMd.com).

The most common heart disease that most people have is coronary artery disease. Coronary artery disease tends to cause heart attacks. When a substance of plaque builds up in your arteries, heart disease may occur. When plaque builds up, a person’s arteries can narrow over time, limiting blood flow to the heart. This could also block the blood flow. This process is called

there is little or not enough blood pumped from the heart to the rest of the body.

d) Cardiac Arrest: Cardiac arrest happens when the heart stops functioning correctly. During cardiac arrest, “blood flow ceases, organs begin to shut down, resulting in the person dying.” When people have this identified at an early time, it can prevent damage to body organ and death.

Risk for having CAD or established CAD, previous MI or heart failure with decreased ejection fraction and ventricular arrhythmias are the known risk factors for SCD[17, 136]. The estimated incidence rate of SCD in infants, children, adolescents, and young adults is about 1.3 to 8.5 per 100,000 patient/years [137] but it still costs to thousands life per year. Sudden infant death syndrome accounting for approximately 10% of the crib death is believed to be due to cardiac arrhythmia or long QT syndrome [138]. A study suggest that out of 158 deaths of American athletes, 30% were due to hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and 13% due to abnormal blood circulation, 10% due to increased cardiac mass due to cardiomyopathy [139]. Another study suggest 20% death due to CAD and 10% deaths due to right ventricular cardiomyopathy/ dysplasia in young population [140]. Patients suffering from SCD with normal heart or without any cardiac disease history, on autopsy show structural abnormalities. Sudden unexplained deaths are also a major concern in epidemiology of SCD and careful post-mortem and histological examination can play a vital role [17]. In a study with 270 autopsies 55 were found to have structural heart disease and a specific cause for death were found in 180 cases with 65% having CAD, 14% with congenital anomalies and 11% with myocarditis. Left

“80% of individuals who suffer [SCD] have coronary heart disease (Zipes and Wellens 2334).” CHD occurs when plaque builds up in the coronary arteries, which provide oxygen-rich blood to the person’s heart. The plaque narrows these arteries, causing reduced blood flow to his or her heart muscle. After a while this area of plaque can rupture, and this could potentially cause a blood clot to begin forming on the surface of the plaque. This blood clot is what ultimately causes a heart attack. Some muscle cells die during a heart attack and are replaced with scar tissue, which damages the heart’s electrical system. Electrical signals might spread abnormally throughout the heart, resulting in SCA in the future. Additionally, countless people are not aware that they have CHD until SCA occurs (“What Causes Sudden Cardiac

In a healthy heart, the sinoatrial node sends an electrical impulse through the atria to contract and pump blood into the ventricles. During atrial fibrillation the normal function of the heart is disrupted. It starts with a chaotic electrical discharge in the atria of the heart, which then causes an irregular, rapid atrial contraction – which leads to rapid ventricular conduction in the AV node. Diseases that damage the heart or abnormalities of the heart’s structure are the most common cause of atrial fibrillation. Certain factors increase the risk of developing atrial fibrillation, such as age, heart disease, high blood pressure, obesity or family history.

     Sudden death occurs due to cardiac arrest. Cardiac arrest may be the first symptom of coronary artery disease and may occur without any symptoms or warning signs. Other causes of sudden death include drowning, suffocation, electrocution, drug overdose, trauma (such as automobile accidents), and stroke. Drowning, suffocation, and drug overdose usually cause respiratory arrest which in turn cause cardiac arrest. Trauma may cause sudden death by severe injury to the heart and brain, or by severe blood loss. Stroke causes damage to the brain which can cause respiratory arrest and/or cardiac arrest.

Sudden cardiac arrest is a condition in which the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. When this occurs the blood flow stops to the brain and vital organs. Sudden cardiac arrest is not the same as a heart attack or myocardial infarction. A heart attack is when the blood flow to part of the heart is blocked.

The heart is one of the most important organs in an organism’s body, no matter if they are aquatic, amphibian, or a mammal. This super organ works automatically, able to pump massive amounts of oxygen rich blood through the body by means of electrical impulses and the opening and closing of valves within its many layers. It is what keeps us and every other creature on this earth alive; so it is only natural for one to fear when there might be a problem with one’s heart. A cardiac arrhythmia can happen to anyone, no matter the age, race, or gender, and as such, doctors and scientist have spent years trying to better understand the heart and the way it functions so that they can try to prevent these problems and save millions of lives.