Last month, the world read with horror about the sudden death of Dave Goldberg, the husband of the Facebook COO, Sheryl Sandberg, who collapsed while exercising. The autopsy report said his arrhythmia (irregular heart beat) could have led to the death.
Every other day, one hears about people, apparently healthy, dropping dead. Sudden Cardiac Death (SCD), the sudden inexplicable death caused by a major cardiac arrest, is a huge medical challenge. It is sometimes preventable, but in most cases, death occurs within minutes.
Globally, one in 1000 of living population die of SCD. There is no India-specific data but verbal autopsy suggests that 10 per cent of all deaths in the country are SCDs, says Tiny Nair, consultant cardiologist at PRS Hospital. About 50 per cent of all heart disease deaths are sudden.
SCD is totally different from a heart attack. A heart attack occurs following a block in one of the arteries, which affects blood supply to the heart. SCD occurs because of an electrical malfunction in the heart, which causes it to “quiver” suddenly and beat irregularly (ventricular fibrillation, V-fib) so that the heart stops pumping blood. The person loses consciousness as blood flow to the brain is affected and death occurs in four to six minutes.
In a large group of people, sudden cardiac deaths are caused by primary arrhythmia syndromes like Long QT Syndrome (LQTS), a congenital primary cardiac electrical defect, which manifests in young adulthood.
“SCD may not exactly be preventable but one can pick up arrhythmias through a routine ECG and take precautionary measures. Majority will have no symptoms but one should check out family history to see if any family members had episodes of fainting or giddiness, and undergo a cardiac check-up,” Dr. Nair says.
In most situations of SCD, using an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) is the only life-saver.
“An AED is a light, portable and interactive device, which will “de-fibrillate” the heart or restore its normal rhythm by delivering an electric shock through the chest. Any person can be trained to use the device to save lives,” he says.
The pads of an AED, when put to the chest of a sick person, will check the heart rhythm, diagnose life-threatening cardiac arrhythmia, and conclude if an electric shock needs to be administered. Through simple audio-visual commands, it instructs the user to resuscitate the person.
AEDs are today available in public places in India too. The public could be trained to use AEDs to save lives, Dr. Nair suggests.
(Reporting by C. Maya)
