Children: strong, resilient, and full of energy.
The vitality of youth often reveals a blind spot: children can suffer many of the same life-threatening medical emergencies as adults – like sudden cardiac arrest.
Life-threatening emergencies that involve a child can be especially frightening and emotionally paralyzing. However, having the right knowledge at hand is a precious lifeline in emergencies.
Cardiac arrest occurs when the heart’s electrical system malfunctions, causing it to stop beating normally – or to stop beating completely.
Understanding why children typically experience cardiac arrest is key, as is what you can do to help in an emergency.
Let’s explore.
It’s not common, but be ready
While you should be cautious and vigilant about cardiac arrest in children, it’s a relief to know that it occurs rarely in children in comparison to adults.
- About 1 to 3 children per 100,000 will suffer cardiac arrest.
- It’s most common in males 10 - 19.
Why does it occur in children?
Unlike in adults, where cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of cardiac arrest, children most often experience it due to an underlying medical abnormality or sudden physical trauma. It’s most likely that a child who experience a cardiac arrest will have appeared perfectly healthy otherwise.
Medical conditions
There are several medical causes related to cardiac arrest in children, many of which stem from pre-existing health conditions.
Common causes include:
- Structural abnormalities in the heart such as enlargement of the heart muscle, known as cardiomyopathy
- Congenital heart problems, such as Marfan syndrome, which affects the connective tissue of the heart
- Electrical system abnormalities such as long QT syndrome and Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, both of which result in rapid and abnormal heartbeats
Other contributing factors include:
- Postoperative complications and inflammation of the heart, known as myocarditis, pericarditis, or endocarditis
- Asthma attacks that deprive heart muscle of oxygen
Trauma
Examples include:
- Drowning (most common cause)
- Motor vehicle accidents
- Sports injuries
Children, especially athletes, are at risk of the condition Commotio Cordis, in which the heart’s rhythm is disrupted by blunt trauma.
Other trauma that can induce cardiac arrest include:
- Anaphylaxis (a severe allergic reaction that impairs breathing)
- Overdoses
- Poisoning
- Respiratory failure
- Severe blood loss
- Body-penetrating traumas
It’s not child’s play
There are several causes of cardiac arrest in children. Reducing the risk of a child experiencing cardiac arrest is best achieved through regular check-ups with a pediatrician or qualified medical professional, and by noting anything that appears abnormal.
While cardiac arrest in children is rare, knowing how to respond in an emergency in key. It can help you prevent cardiac arrest and respond quickly and confidently in an emergency.
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.
Cassidy Layne is a pre-nursing student, EMT-trainee, and healthcare writer based in Texas.
