- Of the more than 356,000 cardiac arrests in the United States each year, 90% are fatal.
- While there are some known signs of sudden cardiac arrest, it usually occurs without warning.
- Researchers from the Smidt Heart Institute at Cedars-Sinai Health System have found that half of people experiencing a sudden cardiac arrest also had a telling symptom 24 hours beforehand.
- Scientists also discovered those warning symptoms are different between men and women.
More than 356,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests occur in the United States each year. Of that number, about 90% cause a fatality.
Although there are some known signs and symptoms of cardiac arrest — also known as sudden cardiac arrest — most times it occurs without warning.
Now, researchers from the Smidt Heart Institute at Cedars-Sinai Health System have found that half of people experiencing a sudden cardiac arrest also had a telling symptom 24 hours beforehand.
Additionally, researchers discovered those warning symptoms are different between men and women.
This study was recently published in the journal
Cardiac arrest occurs when the heart suddenly stops beating, stopping blood from pumping throughout the body.
The main cause of sudden cardiac arrest is an arrhythmia or abnormal heartbeat. An arrhythmia occurs when the electrical pulses telling the heart to pump blood are disrupted.
Cardiac arrest is different from a heart attack. A heart attack happens when a blockage in an artery stops blood from flowing through the different sections of the heart, but it does not cause the heart to completely stop beating as cardiac arrest does.
However, having a heart attack can
Other cardiovascular diseases, such as coronary artery disease, cardiomyopathy, and
Often, cardiac arrest will occur without any warning signs and will cause a person to faint or become unconscious.
Other signs…
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