CARDIAC ARREST SYMPTOMS – HOW TO IDENTIFY THEM ?

First Aid Treatment For Sudden Cardiac Arrest (courtesy : flickr.com)

It is always expected that at least everyone should now the warning signs and symptoms of cardiac arrest and how to react in this circumstances, in order to save a life. If you are suffering from cardiac arrest, then the first thing, happening to you is , you would pass out (become unconscious). If you were in standing position, then you may fall to the ground. This occurs because very less amount of blood reaches to the brain and the rest of the body.

The first step to be done, is to recognize the cardiac arrest symptoms, and to call 9-11. The second step must be to immediately give cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) to help keep the cardiac arrest victim alive until emergency help arrives. The CPR keeps blood and oxygen flowing to the heart and brain until defibrillation can be administered by the paramedics when they arrive on the scene. The amount of time of the arrival of the paramedics can be in few minutes or much longer. The CPR should continue until the paramedics do arrive.

Before a cardiac arrest you may:

For identifying cardiac arrest, the doctor will, first of all check, the pulse of the victim. And then would look at the rhythm of the heart using an electrocardiogram (ECG). The ECG is used to check the electrical activity in the heart as a line on a moving graph or screen. They come to know about the exact situation of the heart, by looking at the size, shape and spacing of the line.

If in any case, the sufferer has no heartbeat (or pulse), no blood pressure and no electrical activity in the heart, then the ECG line would be flat. This is also known as asystole. This means, that the person’s heart did not have any oxygen for some time. Even though, in some cases, it is still possible to get a normal heartbeat back. If asystole continues for five to 10 minutes, then the person is usually declared dead.