Today-Sept 29- is World Heart Day.In this context I wish to discuss about “Sudden Death” of youngsters .
It is really shocking to see young apparently healthy active and energetic persons dying suddenly due to ‘massive cardiac(heart) arrest’.They may be participating in an athletic event,a sport,a gym work-up and the like but fall sick quite abruptly and die in a few minutes.
The sudden massive cardiac arrest can affect any person with or without preexisting heart disease.Here the heart’s electrical system malfunctions. Heartbeats suddenly become very fast and irregular making the heart unable to pump blood.The patient loses brain function and falls unconscious.Death results within 4-6 minutes if blood circulation is not restored.
Absolutely no time to be reached to a hospital,the only possible aid that can be given by a bystander is CPR-cardio pulmonary resuscitation.It is an emergency procedure that combines chest compressions with artificial ventilation in an effort to preserve intact brain function until further measures are taken.The basics of CPR should be a part of all High school/ college training programmes.Social organisations and voluntary service agencies should undertake CPR training for their members.
Rapid treatment with a medical device called an automated external defibrillator (AED) can be life-saving. AED delivers an electrical shock to restore the normal heart rhythm.The quicker the patient is connected to AED,quicker is the response.Use of AEDs at places such as railway stations, airports, large housing colonies, office complexes, and shopping malls can nearly double the chances of survival after an out-of-the-hospital cardiac arrest.
In our country,sudden cardiac arrest cases in the younger age are high, due to the higher prevalence of coronary artery disease(coronary arteries supply blood to heart muscles)among them.Here plaques of ‘cholesterol’ get deposited in the walls of the coronary arteries.Sometimes due to changes in the plaques, clotting and abrupt block of the artery happens .This leads to stoppage of the supply of blood and oxygen to the heart muscle which then starts to die.This is ‘heart attack’ which is different from ‘cardiac arrest’.But this event also can cause sudden cardiac arrest.
More than half of the patients with heart attack die before reaching the hospital due to sudden cardiac arrest.The first hour following a heart attack is very important in preventing cardiac arrest.Sometimes sudden cardiac arrest is the first manifestation of coronary artery disease.So prevention of coronary artery disease is important to reduce sudden deaths due to cardiac arrest.
Some heart-related causes of sudden cardiac arrest in young people include Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy, abnormally connected coronary arteries by birth,Long QT syndrome, inflammation of the heart muscle and abnormalities of the heart's electrical system( Brugada syndrome).A blunt blow to the chest during sports can trigger cardiac arrest.Severe emotional stress can trigger life-threatening heart rhythm changes causing sudden death. Persons with sleeplessness,obesity,bad life/foodstyle and other diseases are more prone to sudden death due to heart’s erratic electrical activity.
Symptoms that parents, coaches and others should suspect in a young person to be at high risk of sudden cardiac death include unexplained fainting during physical activity,family history of unexplained deaths before the age of 50,shortness of breath or chest pain.
Those detected to be at high risk of sudden cardiac death, are advised to avoid competitive sports.Medical or surgical treatments are instructed .Another option is an implantation of a cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD). This like a pacemaker continuously monitors your heartbeat. If abnormal heart rhythm occurs, the ICD delivers electrical shocks to restore a normal rhythm.
Routine tests before athletes are cleared to play competitive sports might help identify those at increased risk.For anyone with a family history of sudden cardiac death, further screening is recommended. ECG is always done to see the rhythm and electrical activity of the heart.
When it comes to treatment, time is critical.Defibrillation (delivering shock or electrical energy) reverts the heart rhythm to normal and should be performed within 3-5 min.
An Intra Cardiac Defibrillator (ICD) is a device like a pacemaker implanted in patients at high risk for sudden cardiac arrest. The device helps to revert heart rhythm to to normal.
To conclude, adopting a healthy lifestyle , getting regular health checkups to keep the risk factors for coronary artery disease under control, drug treatment for established coronary artery disease and ICDs for those at very high risk are the means to reduce sudden cardiac arrest and death.Mass education to empower the bystanders to recognise and respond early to this situation with CPR and government initiatives to install AEDs at high population density areas can achieve higher survival rates from this mounting threat to mankind.
It is really shocking to see young apparently healthy active and energetic persons dying suddenly due to ‘massive cardiac(heart) arrest’.They may be participating in an athletic event,a sport,a gym work-up and the like but fall sick quite abruptly and die in a few minutes.
The sudden massive cardiac arrest can affect any person with or without preexisting heart disease.Here the heart’s electrical system malfunctions. Heartbeats suddenly become very fast and irregular making the heart unable to pump blood.The patient loses brain function and falls unconscious.Death results within 4-6 minutes if blood circulation is not restored.
Absolutely no time to be reached to a hospital,the only possible aid that can be given by a bystander is CPR-cardio pulmonary resuscitation.It is an emergency procedure that combines chest compressions with artificial ventilation in an effort to preserve intact brain function until further measures are taken.The basics of CPR should be a part of all High school/ college training programmes.Social organisations and voluntary service agencies should undertake CPR training for their members.
Rapid treatment with a medical device called an automated external defibrillator (AED) can be life-saving. AED delivers an electrical shock to restore the normal heart rhythm.The quicker the patient is connected to AED,quicker is the response.Use of AEDs at places such as railway stations, airports, large housing colonies, office complexes, and shopping malls can nearly double the chances of survival after an out-of-the-hospital cardiac arrest.
In our country,sudden cardiac arrest cases in the younger age are high, due to the higher prevalence of coronary artery disease(coronary arteries supply blood to heart muscles)among them.Here plaques of ‘cholesterol’ get deposited in the walls of the coronary arteries.Sometimes due to changes in the plaques, clotting and abrupt block of the artery happens .This leads to stoppage of the supply of blood and oxygen to the heart muscle which then starts to die.This is ‘heart attack’ which is different from ‘cardiac arrest’.But this event also can cause sudden cardiac arrest.
More than half of the patients with heart attack die before reaching the hospital due to sudden cardiac arrest.The first hour following a heart attack is very important in preventing cardiac arrest.Sometimes sudden cardiac arrest is the first manifestation of coronary artery disease.So prevention of coronary artery disease is important to reduce sudden deaths due to cardiac arrest.
Some heart-related causes of sudden cardiac arrest in young people include Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy, abnormally connected coronary arteries by birth,Long QT syndrome, inflammation of the heart muscle and abnormalities of the heart's electrical system( Brugada syndrome).A blunt blow to the chest during sports can trigger cardiac arrest.Severe emotional stress can trigger life-threatening heart rhythm changes causing sudden death. Persons with sleeplessness,obesity,bad life/foodstyle and other diseases are more prone to sudden death due to heart’s erratic electrical activity.
Symptoms that parents, coaches and others should suspect in a young person to be at high risk of sudden cardiac death include unexplained fainting during physical activity,family history of unexplained deaths before the age of 50,shortness of breath or chest pain.
Those detected to be at high risk of sudden cardiac death, are advised to avoid competitive sports.Medical or surgical treatments are instructed .Another option is an implantation of a cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD). This like a pacemaker continuously monitors your heartbeat. If abnormal heart rhythm occurs, the ICD delivers electrical shocks to restore a normal rhythm.
Routine tests before athletes are cleared to play competitive sports might help identify those at increased risk.For anyone with a family history of sudden cardiac death, further screening is recommended. ECG is always done to see the rhythm and electrical activity of the heart.
When it comes to treatment, time is critical.Defibrillation (delivering shock or electrical energy) reverts the heart rhythm to normal and should be performed within 3-5 min.
An Intra Cardiac Defibrillator (ICD) is a device like a pacemaker implanted in patients at high risk for sudden cardiac arrest. The device helps to revert heart rhythm to to normal.
To conclude, adopting a healthy lifestyle , getting regular health checkups to keep the risk factors for coronary artery disease under control, drug treatment for established coronary artery disease and ICDs for those at very high risk are the means to reduce sudden cardiac arrest and death.Mass education to empower the bystanders to recognise and respond early to this situation with CPR and government initiatives to install AEDs at high population density areas can achieve higher survival rates from this mounting threat to mankind.
