What to do in case of sudden cardiac arrest?: Can CPR save lives? Know the answer to all the questions from the doctor

Busy life, fast changing lifestyle and wrong eating habits have increased the risk of many diseases. One of these diseases is cardiac arrest. In the last few years, the cases of cardiac arrest have increased so much that a fear has been created in people's minds. It is a matter of concern that the youth are also falling prey to it.

We have seen many such videos on social media, where a young man suddenly dies of cardiac arrest while dancing or working out at the gym.

However, there is one method that, if done immediately, increases the chances of saving a cardiac arrest patient. In the language of medicine it is called CPR i.e. Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation.

According to the American Heart Association's 'Heart and Stroke Statistics 2022' report, cardiac arrest is a public health crisis. More than 356,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests occur in the United States each year, nearly 90% of which are fatal. Shockingly, more than 23,000 children and youth are victims of it every year in America.

According to the renowned medical journal 'De Lecent', every year in India, around 5-6 lakh people die due to sudden cardiac arrest (SCD) and a large number of them are in the age group of 50 years or below.

So today In 'health water' We will tell you about CPR in detail, and also know that-

It is important for everyone to know about CPR, so that anyone can provide first aid to a cardiac arrest patient. In this regard, we Dr. Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgeon of Medanta Hospital, Lucknow. Spoke to Gaurang Majumdar and he answered all the questions related to this.

Question: What is CPR? Answer: CPR stands for Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation is an emergency life saving procedure, given when the heart stops beating. CPR can help a person survive cardiac arrest. Even if you don't know how to give CPR, you can help someone just by using your hands. For this you need to take immediate action.

Question: How does CPR work inside the body? Answer: The job of the heart is to maintain blood circulation throughout the body. This is a mechanically muscular pump, which pumps blood 60 to 70 times per minute and supplies blood with pressure to the entire body. Blood contains oxygen and nutrients and every cell in the body needs oxygen and nutrients through blood to stay alive.

Blood carries oxygen and nutrients to all these cells. The work of sending that blood to all the cells is done by the central pump i.e. the heart. This is called the heart's pumping function.

Once the blood goes everywhere in the body, it is deprived of oxygen and nutrients, after which the blood turns black. The same blood goes to the lungs and is re-oxygenated and reddened, so that black blood turns red as soon as a person breathes. Overall, understand that the heart and lungs work as a unit to keep a person alive. The first word in CPR is 'cardiac' meaning heart. Second 'pulmonary' means lungs. Both of these are very important for living.

Suppose if the heart stops pumping for some reason, no blood flows through the body and when there is no blood circulation, who will provide oxygen and nutrition. Although oxygen is very important for every organ, but the most important thing is the brain, which is a very sensitive organ.

If the brain does not get blood, the person goes into a permanent coma. After the heart stops, the brain dies first. In such a situation, to keep the brain alive, we have to start the heart immediately, but the heart has stopped. In such a situation, we have to manage the heart mechanically.

For this we give external compression to the heart i.e. we compress the chest with hands. Due to this, the blood inside the heart will go throughout the body and some will also go to the lungs. But if cardiac arrest has occurred, the lungs will not work either, so the person has to be given oxygen through mouth-to-mouth breathing.

Give chest compressions four to five times and blow once. By doing the compression, the blood will move throughout the body and we oxygenate that blood until the heart starts working and this process has to be done continuously.

Question: What is the difference between cardiac arrest and heart attack? Answer: Cardiac arrest means the heart is unable to pump and eject blood. Due to the pumping of the heart, blood moves throughout the body and once the heart pumps, 60 to 70 ml of blood moves throughout the body. This is called ejection. When the heart stops pumping, it is called cardiac arrest.

Heart An attack is a blockage in a vessel that supplies blood to the heart. A sudden blockage of the vessel causes the heart muscles to be deprived of blood and that muscle is damaged. This is called a heart attack. A heart attack does not necessarily mean an arrest, but a heart attack can lead to an arrest.

Question: Can CPR be given in heart attack? Answer: No, CPR has to be given only in cardiac arrest. A heart attack does not require CPR because a heart attack occurs even though our blood pressure is maintained and the heart continues to beat.

Question: So how do you know if a cardiac arrest has occurred? Answer: In case of heart attack, the patient will say that he is having pain and sweating, then take him to the hospital immediately, but in case of cardiac arrest, the patient will immediately collapse and become unconscious. In such a situation, CPR should be given immediately by placing the patient on a flat surface. Giving CPR incorrectly won't do anything, but not giving it will definitely make a difference.

Question: How soon to give CPR after cardiac arrest? Answer: CPR should be started within three minutes of unconsciousness. If it is late, the brain becomes dead. Even if the heart starts working again after three minutes of CPR, the person will still go into a coma. It is of no use. Therefore, the sooner CPR is administered, the better the recovery.

Question: Do doctors also give CPR? Answer: Dr Gaurang Majmudar says doctors also give CPR in the hospital. This results in 60 to 70% recovery, but 50% more struggle with roadside CPR because people are not fully aware of it.

Question: How long does CPR have to be given? Answer: Until the heart starts working again. CPR can keep a person alive for about 2 hours.