What Causes A Sudden Cardiac Arrest?

When your heart beats normally, it facilitates blood flow throughout your body. If, for some reason, the electrical impulse which controls the beat is interrupted, it cannot pump blood. As a result, your organs, brain, and tissues cannot receive the oxygen they need in order to function. This is known as a sudden cardiac arrest (SCA).

An SCA is different than a heart attack. It is a near-immediate failure of your body's systems. Because blood cannot reach your brain, everything shuts down. If measures (for example, CPR) are not taken to "jump start" the electrical impulse which keeps the muscle beating, you will die quickly.

This article will focus on the known causes of a sudden cardiac arrest. We'll first describe how your heart muscle manages the flow of blood. Then, we'll explain a few factors which can lead to its abrupt inability to pump.

Understanding Valves And Atria

Your heart is comprised of four chambers - two on top and two on the bottom. The top chamber includes your left and right atria; the bottom chamber includes tricuspid, aortic, and mitral valves. The atria hold the blood and the valves manage the flow's direction. For the muscle to work properly, it must receive a series of electric impulses to regulate the beat. Those impulses are delivered by the sinus node, a network of cells in the right atrium.

Known Causes

If the sinus node experiences problems, an arrhythmia may occur. Usually, that doesn't pose a major risk; the uneven beat seldom lasts more than a moment. However, the sinus node can also cause a ventricular fibrillation. That means the electrical impulses are delivered in rapid fire mode, stimulating the ventricles to tremble rather than pump. A sudden cardiac arrest soon follows.

Aside from a problematic sinus node, coronary artery disease is a leading cause of SCA. When the arteries develop blockages, they not only impede blood flow, but can also interfere with your heart's ability to use the electrical impulses it receives.

Another potential cause may be the valves. If the tricuspid, aortic, or mitral valves suffer a leak, they cannot properly control the direction of the blood flow. As a result, the chambers of your heart can stretch or thicken which can lead to an arrhythmia.

Some patients are born with congenital heart disease. When this is the case, young people can experience a sudden cardiac arrest. For example, you may occasionally hear of a young athlete mysteriously suffering a SCA while engaged in a physically demanding activity.

The most important thing to realize is that immediate medical attention is required when a person experiences a sudden cardiac arrest. If some form of resuscitation is not administered quickly, that person risks death.