Cardiac arrest is a sudden attack that occurs when the heart stops beating. It is mainly caused by blood not flowing to the brain and other organs of the body.
In some cases, these are the symptoms that spring up:
- Chest pain.
- Shortness of breath.
- Fatigue.
- Dizziness.
- Nausea.
- Lack of consciousness.
- Fast heartbeat.
The most common causes of cardiac arrest are listed below:
- Ventricular fibrillation: When the heart stops pumping blood normally.
- Coronary artery disease: This occurs when the coronary arteries are blocked by plaques, restricting blood from flowing to the heart.
- Enlarged heart: This is a result of thickened muscle that leads to irregular heart contractions.
- Blood loss occurs when there is not enough blood in the body.
- Lack of oxygen.
How to save someone from cardiac arrest
- The first thing to do in this situation is to check your surroundings to see if there are no electrical appliances that could trigger any shock for you and the other person.
- You need to confirm if what happened to the person is cardiac arrest. You’ll check for responsiveness — place your ear closer to the nose whilst your eyes are on the stomach. Afterwards, put your hand to feel his or her pulse.
- After you’ve confirmed it is cardiac arrest, call for help. Calling for assistance is crucial before you start to do CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) with your dominant and non-dominant hands locked together.
- Place your hand between the person’s chest or breasts; straighten your elbow, then press to a depth of 5cm.
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Source:
Tribune Online