Cardiac Arrest; First Aid.

People often confuse Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) with Heart Attack. But while both can be deadly, the two heart problems are entirely different.

A Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) occurs when the heart malfunctions and stops beating unexpectedly. It is triggered by an electrical malfunction in the heart that causes an irregular heartbeat (arrhythmia). With its pumping action disrupted, the heart cannot pump blood to the brain, lungs or other organs. When a Sudden Cardiac Arrest occurs, the victim becomes unresponsive or unconscious and displaying no other signs of life such as breathing or movement. Death can occur within minutes is the victim does not receive an emergency first aid response, specifically cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).

If you see someone having a cardiac arrest, you need to act quickly as they will only have a chance of surviving if they receive life saving first aid immediately.

You need to call for help and give immediate CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) as soon as possible.

You should also ask any bystanders to find a defibrillator (an automated external defibrillator – AED for short), which restarts the heart by giving an electric shock. Lots of public places have them, including shopping centers, train stations, airports, offices and schools.

What to look out for

There are three signs that someone has had a cardiac arrest:

1. Sudden loss of consciousness
2. No breathing
3. No movement or other signs of life

What you need to do 

Call your local emergency number   straight away for medical help or ask a bystander to do it, so that you can start doing CPR sooner. Make sure you communicate with a specific person, so that no time is lost while people hesitate.

 

 If there is a defibrillator, grab the AED or ask a specific person to get it for you and switch it on. It will then give you a series of visual and verbal prompts or instructions which you should follow until the ambulance arrives.

If there isn’t a defibrillator, you need to start CPR straight away and carry on until: 

• Emergency help arrives and takes over 
• The person starts showing signs of life and starts to breathe normally, or 
• You are too exhausted to continue, someone else can take over from you.