Sudden Cardiac Arrest/Death 101

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What Are the Symptoms and Causes?

In half of the cases, there are no symptoms before SCD. Sometimes people feel dizzy or have a racing heartbeat before a cardiac arrest. When people have an arrest, they lose consciousness, stop breathing, and have no heartbeat. Most SCD cases are caused by abnormal heart rhythms.

How Is SCD Prevented?
The only way to save someone who is experiencing sudden cardiac arrest is to restore a normal heart rhythm using CPR or a defibrillator that sends an electric shock to the chest.

If you’ve experienced sudden cardiac arrest, your doctor may prescribe a variety of tests, including an echocardiogram to measure the ejection fraction (EF) which represents the percentage of blood pumped out of the heart with each beat. Heart medications, such as ACE inhibitors, beta blockers, antiarrhythmics, or statins, may help. In some high-risk cases, cardioverter-defibrillators are implanted under the skin to detect abnormal rhythms and shock the heart back into normal rhythm.

Reduce your risk by making these lifestyle changes that improve your heart health:

• Stop smoking.
• Maintain a healthy weight.
• Exercise.
• Eat low-fat foods.
• Manage your blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood glucose.