As reported by Rohan Mirchandani, CEO of popular Greek yogurt brand Epigamia, Death due to sudden cardiac arrest As the arrests spread, many corporates expressed concern that stress was a trigger that was necessary given the rising number of youth deaths. The truth is that all Indians should get their heart condition and working life checked early as we are genetically more prone to developing heart disease. And given our high co-morbidity burden like diabetes, hypertension and obesity, we should make a serious effort to keep it in range.
First and foremost, sudden cardiac arrest, which is the sudden cessation of the heart’s electrical impulses, cannot be limited to a certain age group. Anyone of any age can develop it if there are underlying conditions for it. Let’s first distinguish it from a heart attack. A heart attack is the result of a blockage and clotting in an artery that blocks blood flow to the heart. Sudden cardiac arrest is not caused by an obstruction but by a variety of triggers that can disrupt the heart’s electrical system, causing the heart to beat irregularly and eventually stop. This rapid rate prevents the heart from pumping blood effectively, starving the rest of your body of blood supply, resulting in death. However, if a heart attack can alter the heart’s electrical impulses, it can be a trigger for sudden cardiac arrest.
Can a heart attack cause cardiac arrest?
Overall, about 80 percent of sudden cardiac arrests in people over age 40 result from coronary artery disease. Sometimes even a small blockage can lead to a serious heart attack. By this I mean less than 70 percent inhibitions, which do not show up in traditional tests like the Treadmill Test (TMT). They produce small plaques or plaques. But sometimes, during strenuous exercise, the plaque lining ruptures and dislodges. Blood flowing over a ruptured plaque clot blocks the tear, causing a large blockage in the artery that can lead to a heart attack. Now an untreated or unprepared heart, accustomed to less than 70 percent cardiac arrest, can experience wild changes in heart rate, leading to sudden cardiac arrest.
Other causes of sudden cardiac death in young people
However, for the younger population, say under 35, undetected congenital heart defects or genetic abnormalities in the heart’s electrical system, usually characterized by irregular heartbeats or arrhythmias, are to blame. Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM) is a genetic condition that causes the heart muscle to thicken and enlarge but is undetected until physical exertion and extreme activities cause abnormal heart rhythms and heart failure. Dehydration can cause the blood to thicken, and the heart has to work harder to pump blood. Electrolyte imbalances, usually caused by insufficient potassium or calcium — which help blood vessels constrict and dilate — can interfere with the heart’s electrical signals. Mental stress, as in work anxiety, can cause an adrenaline rush that stresses the heart, interfering with the heartbeat.
Treatment and prevention
Unfortunately, sudden cardiac arrest gives you a few-minute window in which to administer cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) to the patient and need a defibrillator. Compared to the US, where 85 percent of the population knows how to perform CPR, only one percent of people in India know about it. Also we need defibrillators in public places.
For prevention, an electrocardiogram measures the electrical activity of the heart and is sufficient to detect arrhythmias. It can show changes in heart rate that increase the risk of sudden death.
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