Cardiac arrest is the sudden loss of blood flow throughout the body resulting from the heart not being able to pump blood efficiently. It is a rapidly fatal medical emergency requiring immediate intervention with cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) until further treatment can be provided. Cardiac arrest results in rapid loss of consciousness and breathing may be abnormal or absent. While cardiac arrest may be caused by heart attack or heart failure, these are not the same, and in 15 to 25% of cases, there is a non-cardiac cause. Some individuals may experience chest pain, shortness of breath, or nausea immediately before entering cardiac arrest. Additionally, an elevated heart rate and feelings of light-headedness may occur before the episode. If not intervened by CPR and defibrillation, cardiac arrest typically leads to death within minutes.
The most common cause of cardiac arrest is an underlying heart problem like coronary artery disease which decreases the amount of oxygenated blood supplying the heart muscle. This, in turn, damages the structure of the muscle, which can alter its function. These changes can over time place the patient's heart in ventricular fibrillation (V-fib) which most commonly precedes cardiac arrest. Less common causes include major blood loss, lack of oxygen, very low potassium, heart failure, inherited heart arrhythmias, and intense physical exercise. Cardiac arrest is diagnosed by the inability to find a pulse.
Sample Chapter(s)
Preface (35 KB)
Components of the Book:
- Chapter 1.
Filamin-C variant-associated cardiomyopathy: A pooled analysis of individual patient data to evaluate the clinical profile and risk of sudden cardiac death
- Chapter 2.
Harmonization of the definition of sudden cardiac death in longitudinal cohorts of the European Sudden Cardiac Arrest network – towards Prevention, Education, and New Effective Treatments (ESCAPE-NET) consortium
- Chapter 3.
Identification of patients at risk of sudden cardiac death in congenital heart disease: The PRospEctiVE study on implaNTable cardIOverter defibrillator therapy and suddeN cardiac death in Adults with Congenital Heart Disease (PREVENTION-ACHD)
- Chapter 4.
Poor R-wave progression as a predictor of sudden cardiac death in the general population and subjects with coronary artery disease
- Chapter 5.
Sudden Cardiac Death in Diabetes and Obesity: Mechanisms and Therapeutic Strategies
- Chapter 6.
Sudden Cardiac Death Prediction in Non-ischemic Dilated Cardiomyopathy: a Multiparametric and Dynamic Approach
- Chapter 7.
In-hospital versus out-of-hospital cardiac arrest: Characteristics and outcomes in patients admitted to intensive care after return of spontaneous circulation
- Chapter 8.
Socioeconomic status and risk of in-hospital cardiac arrest
- Chapter 9.
Gender differences in sudden cardiac death in the young-a nationwide study
- Chapter 10.
Global mortality of children after perioperative cardiac arrest: A systematic review, meta-analysis, and meta-regression
- Chapter 11.
Impact of extracorporeal CPR with transcatheter heart pump support (ECPELLA) on the improvement of short-term survival and neurological outcome in patients with refractory cardiac arrest –A single-site retrospective cohort study
- Chapter 12.
Case reports of a c.475G>T, p.E159* lamin A/C mutation with a family history of conduction disorder, dilated cardiomyopathy and sudden cardiac death
- Chapter 13.
The inflammatory response is related to circulatory failure after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest: A prospective cohort study
- Chapter 14.
Body mass index, abdominal fatness, and the risk of sudden cardiac death: a systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis of prospective studies
- Chapter 15.
Recurrent ventricular arrhythmias and mortality in cardiac arrest survivors with a reversible cause with and without an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator: A systematic review
Readership:
Students, academics, teachers and other people attending or interested in Sudden Cardiac Death
Mischa T Rijnierse
Amsterdam UMC, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Department of Cardiology, Amsterdam Cardiovascular Sciences, De Boelelaan 1117, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Teresa Norat
Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Imperial College London, St. Mary's Campus, Norfolk Place, Paddington, London, W2 1PG, UK.
Sabrina Schlesinger
Institute for Biometrics and Epidemiology, German Diabetes Center (DDZ), Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany.
Mathias J Holmberg
Research Center for Emergency Medicine, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark; Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark; Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care, Randers Regional Hospital, Randers, Denmark.
Brian P Halliday
National Heart & Lung Institute, Imperial College London, London, UK.
and more...