Sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) is the unanticipated loss of heart function, and is usually caused by an electrical disturbance that disrupts your heart’s pumping action, thereby stopping blood-flow to the rest of your body. When your heart stops pumping blood, your brain becomes starved of oxygen, which in turn causes you to fall unconscious and stop breathing. If you are not treated properly and immediately, SCA can lead to death within minutes. If, on the other hand, you do receive fast, appropriate medical care, you will have a good chance of survival.
To help you better understand the importance of having a defibrillator in the office – and, more crucially, having the access to one when you need it – we’ve put together the most comprehensive statistics and some of the most important facts about SCA and defibrillation.
Facts and Figures
Defibrillators can prevent sudden cardiac death among people who have higher risk of life-threatening arrhythmia. The following the statistics will show the risk of SCA and why defibrillators are so important and should be available in public buildings, leisure centres, workplaces, schools, and other communal areas across the United States:
Approximately 350,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests (OHCA) occur in the US each year
Only 46% of people who suffer OHCA receive the immediate treatment that they need
Around 10,000 cardiac arrests happen in the workplace in the US each year
Approximately 80% of OHCAs occur at home; 20% occur in public places
Without immediate treatment, 90-95% of SCAs result in death
If a defibrillator is used and effective CPR is performed within 3-5 minutes of cardiac arrest, the chance of survival is increased from 6% to 74%
In 2014, nearly 45% of OHCA victims survived when bystanders performed effective CPR
The Symptoms, the Causes, and the Risk Factors
SCA is different from a heart attack.
A heart attack occurs when blood-flow to a portion of the heart is blocked.
The cause of SCA, on the other hand, is not as clear-cut, but it is most often caused by a dangerous heart rhythm called ventricular fibrillation (VF). SCA can happen to anyone of any age, but the risk is higher among certain groups of people. Here are some useful facts to help you understand the signs that can potentially point to someone being especially at risk of SCA:
Health condition, gender, age, and ethnicity generally do not factor when determining the cause of SCA
Symptoms of SCA are immediate and drastic, including sudden collapse, lack of pulse, breathing difficulties, and loss of consciousness
Sometimes, other symptoms may precede SCA, including fatigue, fainting, blackouts, dizziness, chest pain, shortness of breath, weakness, palpitations, and vomiting – but it often occurs without any warning signs
Having a physically strenuous job puts a person at a higher risk of falling victim to SCA
Factors such as having high blood pressure, being obese, being a smoker, having high cholesterol, having congenital heart disease, and having diabetes can each contribute to the risk of SCA
Some life-threatening events like electrocution, drowning, trauma, choking, and respiratory arrest can potentially lead to SCA, too
A Race Against Time
The worst thing anyone can do when someone suffers an SCA is nothing – as you’ll learn from these figures:
The average EMS response-time to a cardiac event-related incident in an urban area is 11 minutes
The chances of a victim surviving an SCA worsen by a further 7% to 10% for each minute that passes without treatment or medical attention
If defibrillation take place within the first minute of the victim collapsing, their chance of survival can increase to 90%
Basic first aid can keep oxygen circulating around the body, as well as amplify the effects of defibrillation
For defibrillation to be successful, it needs to be delivered within a few minutes of the patient’s heart entering into VF, which can be extended slightly if a bystander provides effective CPR immediately
The likelihood of causing harm to the patient by performing CPR or using a defibrillator is very small, because an AED will only deliver a shock if it has examined the victim’s heartbeat (or lack thereof) and thereby determined that the victim is in fact suffering SCA
Find Out More
Given that each minute is crucial, we encourage everyone to learn more about the heart, SCA, defibrillators, and everything in between. The more AEDs we have across the country, the safer everyone will be.