Heart disease is becoming a common disease today, we talked about the risk of heart disease , Dr. Kavita Tyagi, who is a senior cardiologist at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, New Delhi.
Q-1 WHAT IS SUDDEN CARDIAC DEATH ?
Sudden cardiac death (SCD) is death due to a cardiovascular causes happening within one hour of beginning of symptoms , when the heart stops beating or is not beating enough to maintain perfusion ( blood supply ) of vital organs .
Q-2 WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SUDDEN CARDIAC DEATH AND HEART ATTACK ?
Sudden cardiac arrest is different from heart attack . Heart attacks occur when there is a critical blockage in one or more of arteries of heart , preventing the heart from receiving enough oxygen-rich blood thereby damaging the heart muscles.
In contrast, Sudden cardiac arrest occurs when the electrical system of the heart becomes malfunctioning and very irregular , the heart beats dangerously fast. The ventricles may flutter or quiver (ventricular fibrillation), and blood is not delivered to the body and most importantly to the brain so that a person will lose consciousness.
Death follows unless emergency treatment is begun immediately.
Q-3 HOW TO RECOGNISE?
Signs of sudden cardiac arrest are immediate and dramatic and include , Sudden collapse , No pulse , No breathing ,Loss of consciousness .
Sometimes before sudden cardiac arrest patient might complain of Chest discomfort , Shortness of breath , extreme weakness , palpitations.
Q-4 WHAT IS EMERGENCY TREATMENT ?
Immediate cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and defibrillation is the key to save life. CPR keeps enough oxygen in the lungs and gets it to the brain until the normal heart rhythm comes back with an electric shock to the chest (defibrillation). Emergency action must take place immediately. Survival can be as high as 90 percent if treatment is started within the first minutes after sudden cardiac arrest. The rate decreases by about 10 percent each minute longer. Portable defibrillators used by emergency personnel, or available at public places (AEDs) may save the life.
Q-5 IF YOU SEE SOMEONE WHO'S UNCONSCIOUS , WHAT YOU CAN DO ?
Call emergency medical help before beginning CPR. Quickly check the person's breathing and pulse . Check for person s responsiveness . If the person isn't breathing normally, begin CPR. Push hard and fast on the person's chest at the rate of 100 to 120 compressions a minute. If you've been trained in CPR, check the person's airway and deliver rescue breaths after every 30 compressions.
If you haven't been trained, just continue chest compressions. Allow the chest to rise completely between compressions. Keep doing this until a portable defibrillator is available or emergency workers arrive.
Q-6 WHAT ARE THE CAUSES:
In both males and females over the age of 30, SCD is most commonly associated with ischemic heart disease. Other causes are Coronary artery embolism , Nonatherogenic coronary artery disease (arteritis, dissection, congenital coronary anomalies) , Coronary artery spasm , Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy , Dilated cardiomyopathy , Valvular heart disease , Arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy , Myocarditis , Cardiac tamponade , Acute myocardial rupture , Aortic dissection , Drug overdose/toxicity , Central airway obstruction , Sudden infant death syndrome.
Q-7 WHAT WE CAN DO IN OUT-OF-HOSPITAL CARDIAC ARREST?
The majority of sudden cardiac death victims have no premonitory symptoms and are not known as being at high risk before the event. The short time duration after cardiac arrest in which circulation has to be restored to prevent irreversible brain damage is must. In the so-called chain of survival, several steps are important. It is to identify and the sudden cardiac arrest victim. Public should have access to defibrillation and knowledge about how to use them .
Q-8 WHAT IS IMPLANTABLE CARDIOVERTER-DEFIBRILLATOR (ICD)?
For patients who have a great risk for SCD, an ICD may be inserted as a preventive treatment. An ICD is a small machine similar to a pacemaker that is designed to correct arrhythmias. It detects and then corrects a fast heart rate.
The ICD constantly monitors the heart rhythm. When it detects a very fast, abnormal heart rhythm, it delivers energy (a small, but powerful shock) to the heart muscle to cause the heart to beat in a normal rhythm again.
Q-9WHAT ARE THE LIFESTYLE CHANGES ?
Quitting smoking,Losing weight if overweight,Exercising regularly,Following a low-fat and fiber rich diet,Managing diabetes,Managing other conditions like hypertension, obstructive sleep apnea , dyslipidemia,stress.