It’s October – a month for leaf peeping, fall festivals, and spooky costumes.
But did you know the month of pumpkins is known for something else too?
In 2008, the U.S. Congress declared October National Sudden Cardiac Arrest Awareness Month in an effort to educate the public about warning signs, risk factors, and what to do in a cardiac emergency.
In recognition, the Starting Hearts blog will dedicate articles this month to expanding (or refreshing) your cardiac arrest knowledge, providing tips you can follow to stay heart-healthy, and help you know to do to help a person in cardiac arrest.
Here’s five facts about sudden cardiac arrest to get you started.
1. Sudden cardiac arrest is the leading cause of death in the United States
Each year, more than 360,000 Americans experience an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, and less than 10 percent will survive to hospital discharge.
2. Sudden cardiac arrest can impact anyone, anytime.
Cardiac arrest strikes without warning.
While cardiac arrest that occurs in young people – especially athletes – grabs the most headlines, adults are far more likely to experience one. Most occur in people over 45.
Men experience cardiac arrest about twice as often as women.
3. Sudden cardiac arrest is not a heart attack
While the general public often lumps them together, cardiac arrest and heart attack are distinct from each other. In simple terms, a cardiac arrest is an electrical problem, while a heart attack is a plumbing problem.
Cardiac arrest occurs when the electrical system that coordinates heart rhythm misfires, causing the heart to stop beating properly. Blood is no longer pumped through the body, starving the brain and other vital organs of oxygen and nutrients.
A heart attack occurs when the blood vessels that supply the heart become obstructed, usually by a buildup of plaque. Blood reaching the heart is either severely reduced or completely shut off, causing heart muscle to die.
Cardiac arrest is accompanied by a rapid loss of consciousness. Heart attack victims usually feel chest pain but remain conscious. The heart continues beating, but less blood is pumped to the body.
Both cardiac arrest and heart attack are serious health events that require immediate attention.
4. Quick bystander response is key to sudden cardiac arrest survival
For each minute that passes after a cardiac arrest without CPR, the survival rate drops by 10 percent. After 10 minutes, the chance of survival is virtually zero. A cardiac arrest victim’s survival chance can double or triple when CPR is promptly administered.
Nine in ten cardiac arrest victims who receive a shock from an automated external defibrillator (AED) in the first minute survive.
5. Most adults don’t feel confident providing CPR in an emergency.
While CPR is shown to be highly effective in improving sudden cardiac arrest survival, less than half of people who have a cardiac arrest outside of a hospital receive CPR.
A 2022 survey conducted by the American Heart Association found that while nine of ten adults feel CPR will improve someone’s chance of surviving cardiac arrest, only six in ten adults feel comfortable stepping up and performing the life-saving intervention.
Check back next week for more life-saving information as National Sudden Cardiac Awareness Month continues!
At Starting Hearts, we can provide you with specific training that can make a life-saving difference. Contact us for more information: info@startinghearts.org
Patrick Golden is a healthcare writer based in Massachusetts.
