The most common cause of cardiac arrest

The heart is the most important organ and the most critical part of the human body. If there is a problem with the heart, it will cause great harm to the human body. First of all, the most common cause of cardiac arrest may include arrhythmia or serious problems with the patient's heart. These will affect normal breathing and have a great impact. Therefore, we must understand the issue of cardiac arrest clearly.

What are the causes of cardiac arrest?

① Acute hypoxia: hypoxia caused by ventilator dysfunction, respiratory obstruction, inhalation of secretions or vomitus, and pulmonary edema.

② Severe electrolyte or acid-base imbalance: such as hypokalemia, hyperkalemia and acidosis.

③Severe arrhythmia.

④Drug effects: excessive and rapid infusion of potassium salts, improper use of myocardial inhibitors, digitalis poisoning, excessive dosage of vasodilators and general anesthetics, or shock caused by drug allergy, etc.

⑤Acute pericardial tamponade.

⑥ Severe hypovolemic low cardiac output.

⑦ Insufficient blood supply to the coronary arteries.

⑧ Electric shock, intracranial hemorrhage, severe trauma, body temperature ≤28℃ and vagus nerve reflex caused by any reason, etc.

The clinical manifestations of cardiac arrest are:

① Heart sounds disappear, pulse cannot be felt, and blood pressure cannot be measured;

②Sudden loss of consciousness, limb convulsions, cardiac arrest for 5 to 10 seconds, syncope, cardiac arrest for 15 to 20 seconds, sudden loss of consciousness, systemic convulsions, and coma;

③ Breathing is intermittent, sigh-like, and then stops, usually 20 to 30 seconds after the arrest;

④ The patient with cardiac arrest becomes comatose, which occurs 30 seconds after cardiac arrest;

⑤ In patients with cardiac arrest, pupil dilation usually occurs 30 to 60 seconds after cardiac arrest. The pupil becomes fixed after 1 to 2 minutes, and various deep and shallow reflexes disappear.

Ventricular asystole and cardiac arrest (also known as complete cardiac arrest) need to be differentiated, and there are the following differences.

1. Ventricular asystole occurs on the basis of high-degree or third-degree atrioventricular block, while cardiac arrest occurs in various fatal arrhythmias, various organic heart diseases, the terminal stages of various diseases, primary or secondary cardiac arrest, ventricular asystole, etc.

2. When the ventricles are at rest, the electrocardiogram shows atrial P waves (P wave, P′ wave, F wave or f wave) but no atrioventricular junction and ventricular QRS wave. On the electrocardiogram of cardiac arrest, there is an isoelectric line (a straight line) that lasts for more than 2.7 seconds.

3. When the ventricles are at rest, the atria contract but the ventricles do not contract. When the heart stops beating, neither the atria nor the ventricles contract. However, the common point between ventricular standstill and cardiac arrest is that there is no electrical activity in the ventricles (no QRS waves) and no mechanical contraction of the ventricles, both leading to the termination of blood circulation, so the two are compared. They are the two most serious types of arrest, and some people advocate referring to both as cardiac arrest.

1. Eat properly, work and rest in moderation, and be in a good mood.

2. Actively treat the primary disease, correct electrolyte imbalance, and use relevant drugs rationally.