Cardiac Arrest: What We Can Do To Lower The Risk

Mother Teresa, Michael Jackson, Christopher Reeve and Damar Hamlin. All these celebrities share one thing in common: they all suffered a cardiac arrest. However, in the case of Hamlin, he was able to not only miraculously survive but also make a full recovery from his cardiac arrest during a game. One might wonder how only Hamlin was able to survive. It wasn’t his luck; but rather, it was high quality and immediate CPR. More on that later.

With recent media, the terms “cardiac arrest” and “heart attack” have been thrown around loosely and occasionally even interchangeably. To accurately treat either it is essential to understand the differences. A heart attack occurs when the arteries that supply blood to the heart are blocked by “plaque” and it stops blood flow to a portion of the heart that dies. Heart attack is often not fatal and taking an aspirin can treat it for the time being, but it is important to see a medical professional because heart attacks increase the likelihood of cardiac arrest. Cardiac arrest occurs when the heart’s rhythm becomes irregular and chaotic. This immediately stops all blood flow to all organs, blood pressure becomes zero, and they have no pulse. Essentially, the victim’s heart has shut down and they are “dead.” CPR and defibrillation are essential factors to improve the victims’ likelihood of survival.

Being the leading cause of death, sudden cardiac arrest takes on average 325,000 lives a year - in the US alone. When a victim suffers a cardiac arrest in public, their chance of leaving the hospital alive is less than 10%, and around half of victims never show any signs beforehand. Such numbers are certainly staggering, but that’s where CPR comes in. We’ve all heard about it, and many of us think we know how to do it – kinda. But few know the power of CPR. We’ll let the numbers speak for themselves. Immediate and high quality CPR has shown to double or even triple one’s chances of survival after a cardiac arrest. By manually pumping the heart in a rhythm, one is essentially keeping the blood flow going in the body. Without it, one’s chance of survival falls by 7 to 10% per minute. Another essential tool in the fight to survive is an automated external defibrillator, also known as an AED. Commonly found in public areas, AEDs are often used to shock the heart into a regular rhythm. Many people assume that it’s meant to be used by professionals, but in reality, you, I or anyone walking down the street can use an AED. AEDs will often have a voice that instructs you of the steps and when you can – and can’t – shock the victim.

Cardiac arrest is a fatal and scary thing. However, with a public that is armed with better knowledge, we as a society can bring down death rates from cardiac arrest by simply taking the time to learn CPR in commonly available classes and not be afraid to use it when necessary.