Sudden cardiac arrest is often mistaken for a heart attack, but they are different.
Sudden Cardiac Arrest occurs when electrical impulses in the heart become rapid or chaotic, which causes the heart to suddenly stop beating and fail to pump blood.
Heart Attack is a plumbing problem where the blood supply to the heart is blocked, causing the heart muscle to die.
A heart attack victim usually experiences symptoms, but less than half of sudden cardiac arrest victims have any sign something is wrong.
Signs that Someone has Suffered a Sudden Cardiac Arrest:
Sudden collapse
Loss of consciousness
No breathing
Loss of pulse
No sign of life
Research has proved that the correct response, delivered promptly, will help a SCA victim to survive.
The trick is to undertake CPR as soon as possible after the victim collapses, and then to deliver the first shock (defibrillation) in as short a time as possible after the SCA. Research indicates these two factors affect your survival chances.
The public can play a major role in performing both of these life saving actions; bystander CPR, and if they have access to an AED, defibrillation before paramedic arrival. Providing CPR to a sudden cardiac arrest victim can double or even triple their chances of survival. And yet less than a third of sudden cardiac arrest victims in Wellington currently receive any form of bystander CPR.
For any sudden cardiac arrest victim, receiving the Chain of Survival vastly increases the chances of recovery.
WFA urges - don’t stand by, be a good bystander.
For more information about what you can do to save a life, click here
