Warning Signs for Cardiac Arrest That Most People Ignore

Do you know the warning signs of sudden cardiac arrest? Recognizing the symptoms, and knowing what to do about them, could save your life…or the life of someone close to you.
In the United States, about 350,000 people die every year from sudden cardiac arrest. Sudden cardiac arrest is when your heart malfunctions and stops beating. Although it happens suddenly, you might have symptoms for up to a month before it happens. Unfortunately, most people don’t take those symptoms seriously enough, according to a new study published in the Annals of Inernal Medicine.
The researchers studied cardiac patients and interviewed first responders and family members. They found that 51 percent had actually experienced warning symptoms, mainly chest pain. Of the 839 patients studied, some of the most common symptoms included:

• intermittent chest pain (angina) and pressure
• shortness of breath
• palpitations
• ongoing influenza-like symptoms such as nausea and abdominal and back pain

Ninety-three percent of those who had symptoms at some point experienced them again in the 24 hours before the cardiac arrest. But here’s the thing: only 19 percent of them sought emergency care for those symptoms. In that group, the survival rate was 32 percent. The survival rate for those who didn’t seek treatment for symptoms was only six percent.
Heart attack or cardiac arrest: What’s the difference?
As the American Heart Association explains it, a heart attack is a circulation problem, while sudden cardiac arrest is an electrical problem.
A heart attack is when blood flow to the heart is blocked. Most of the time, your heart doesn’t stop beating during a heart attack. Heart attack can increase your chances of cardiac arrest.