Sudden Cardiac Arrest - What Should You Do?

A cardiac arrest can strike when a person is least expecting it. This is usually termed as a sudden cardiac arrest, which happens due to an unexpected loss of functionality of heart. Does it not make sense to know what is to be done in case one comes across a person who just had an arrest?

The most important thing is Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR). It is critical for the survival of a victim of heart attack. This is to ensure that there is still some level of blood flowing to the vital organs of the body, without which death would surely be a foregone conclusion.

If you have not received a CPR training, you must do it now. This is because a lot of things can get complicated and go wrong. After all, who wants to make a bad situation worse? In case of sudden cardiac arrest one should drop down and kneel, place the palm of one hand over the back of another and then go onto to perform compressions on the chest at a rate of about a 100 to a 120 beats per minute (BPM). The elbows should be straight and the heel of the hand that is lower should be placed in the centre of the victim’s chest.

1. Call for help: If you are at the scene, but do not know how to provide a CPR, call the emergency helpline number immediately. Medical help should not be delayed so that the cardiac arrest victim can be treated by a medical professional.
2. CPR: In order to perform CPR, after about 30 compressions, tilt the head back and lift the chin to open the airway and give two rescue breaths. This is only if there is no normal breathing. Each breath lasts a second and the chest should rise after the first. If it does not, the procedure must be repeated again.
3. Electric shock: An automated external defibrillator (AED) is very important when treating a cardiac arrest. If there is one available at hand, a shock should be provided prior to starting CPR.

While there may be quite a lot of stuff to take in about the procedures related to a cardiac arrest, it is surely worth remembering. After all, a life may really depend on it!