Understanding cardiac arrest

All reports indicate that the “King of Pop”, Michael Jackson died of  cardiac arrest. Jackson’s reported cardiac arrest may have been from any one of a number of factors, however heart experts state that emotional stress could have been an important contributor to this often deadly condition.

Sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) is a condition in which the heart abruptly and unexpectedly stops beating. When this occurs, blood stops flowing to the brain and other vital organs.

80 percent of cardiac arrests happens in the home, at work or somewhere people normally frequent. But the survival rate is only 4 to 6 percent because people don’t know what to do when it happens.

Victims lose consciousness, stop breathing and lose their pulse and blood pressure.

During cardiac arrest, the heart actually stops beating and quivers with uncoordinated contractions. Unless a defibrillator is used to shock the heart back into a normal rhythm, death is inevitable. Someone experiencing a cardiac arrest typically collapses, loses consciousness, and stops breathing.

Approximately 20% of people who go to the hospital for cardiac arrest survive. A person is far more likely to survive if he is revived with a defibrillator right away.

It is important to note that cardiac arrest is not a heart attack, which is caused by blockages in blood vessels leading to the heart. People having heart attacks often have crushing chest pain, and far better survival rates.