What causes cardiac arrest and how to treat it

Cardiac arrest happens when the heart suddenly stops beating or starts beating very slowly and insufficiently due to heart disease, respiratory failure or electric shock, for example.

Before cardiac arrest, the person may experience severe chest pain, shortness of breath, pain or tingling in the left arm and strong palpitations, for example. Cardiac arrest represents an emergency situation that can lead to death within minutes if it is not treated quickly.

Causes of cardiac arrest

In cardiac arrest, the heart suddenly stops beating, which interferes with the transport of blood to the brain and other parts of the body, which can be fatal. Cardiac arrest can happen due to:

• Electric shock; Hypovolemic shock; Poisoning; Heart disease (infarction, arrhythmia, aortic dissection, cardiac tamponade, heart failure); Stroke; Respiratory failure; Drowning.

Cardiac arrest is more common in people with heart problems, chronic lung disease, smokers, diabetics, obese, high cholesterol, high triglycerides or in people with unhealthy lifestyle and inadequate diet.

Thus, it is important to periodically go to the cardiologist to check the health of the heart and start any treatment if necessary. Learn more about what can cause cardiac arrest.

Symptoms of cardiac arrest

Before a person has cardiac arrest, they may experience:

• Severe pain in the chest, abdomen and back; Severe headache; Shortness of breath or difficulty in breathing; Rolling the tongue, presenting difficulty in speaking; Pain or tingling in the left arm; Strong palpitations.

Cardiac arrest may be suspected when the person is found unconscious, does not respond when called, does not breathe and has no pulse.

How the treatment is done

The initial treatment for cardiac arrest is to make the heart beat again as soon as possible, which can be done through cardiac massage or through a defibrillator, which is a device that emits electrical waves to the heart in order to do to hit again. See what it is for and how to use the defibrillator.

When the heart beats again, it is necessary to do tests that show what caused the cardiac arrest, so that, thus, it can be treated and prevented a new cardiac arrest. In some cases, it may be necessary to implant a pacemaker or even an ICD (implantable cardioverter defibrillator), small devices that reduce or reverse cardiac arrest. Learn more about pacemaker placement.

To decrease the chance of suffering a cardiac arrest, it is necessary for the person to take heart medications regularly, have a healthy lifestyle and avoid stress.

First aid in case of cardiac arrest

To identify cardiac arrest, a person must verify that the person is breathing, call the victim to find out if he or she responds and verify that the heart is beating by placing a hand on the person's neck.

As soon as cardiac arrest is identified, it is important to call an ambulance by calling 192 or 193. Afterwards, cardiac massage should be started as soon as possible in order to make the heart beat again, as follows: way:

1. Lying the victim on the floor face up; Position the victim's chin higher, to facilitate breathing; Open the victim's mouth, to facilitate the entry of air; Place your hands over the victim's heart and push your hands hard and quickly over the heart, at the speed of over 100 pushes for 2 minutes.

Every 2 minutes, it is necessary to observe if the person breathes or responds, and if this does not happen, you must continue the massages until the arrival of the help. See the step-by-step how to do cardiac massage by watching the video: