For Jen Morrow, 30, it was just another ordinary day when she went into cardiac arrest. She said she was getting her kids ready for school when suddenly, she didn’t feel well. She lay down on the kitchen floor and just tried to catch her breath. Her son ran to get her husband, who helped her sit up to drink a glass of water. She felt lightheaded and thought she just needed some space so she got up and walked to the bathroom. She got dizzy while in there and lay down again. She started to gasp for air, her eyes glazed over and her skin turned gray and cold. She barely had a pulse.
Jen’s parents, who lived across the street, came over to find their daughter that way. They knew what was happening and called 911. By the time the paramedics got there, Jen’s heart had already stopped once, and she was struggling to catch her breath. The EMTs shocked her with a defibrillator five times to get her heart rhythm to return to normal and rushed her to the hospital. By the time they arrived, her temperature was a cool 92 degrees. She was shocked 12 more times with a defibrillator but it did not do much to stabilize her condition. The doctors gave her a “fatal” diagnosis, warning her husband and family that she had approximately 4 hours to live. Jen slipped into a coma and doctors said that if she survived, she would be brain dead.
This all occurred on June 4, 2010, just one month after Jen turned 30. She was in a coma until June 13th. On June 14, she was transferred out of the ICU, and on June 21, she left the hospital. Though she experienced residual effects of cardiac arrest, she was fine. Well, she was alive. She had an Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD) implanted and is working with doctors to help her change her lifestyle. Other than receiving low amounts of potassium in her diet and being under considerable stress, the doctors found no reason why Jen should have had a cardiac arrest, which goes to show that it can happen to anyone.
Jen is one of the lucky few who survived sudden cardiac arrest. The survival rate for SCA is a cruel 6 percent, as most people don’t know what is happening until it is too late, which begs the question…is there a way to detect an impending episode? Research suggests that there is.
Symptoms of Impending Sudden Cardiac Arrest
A new study suggests that sudden cardiac arrest is not as sudden as initially thought. According to the study, half of sufferers experienced warning signs hours, days, or sometimes even weeks before their cardiac arrest. Most people had symptoms within 24 hours of their collapse, though some had symptoms up to a month before. Only a fraction of patients considered their symptoms bad enough to call 911 before they collapsed, and those were the patients who were most likely to survive.
Though people with a history of heart disease are more likely to experience sudden cardiac arrest, as Jen’s story proves, it can happen to anyone on any ordinary day. Though the science is not exact, and though studies are still being done to identify early warning signs of sudden cardiac arrest, common symptoms to look for include:
- Chest pain (most common in men)
- Shortness of breath (most common in women)
- Fainting
- Heart palpitations
- Dizziness
Unfortunately, these symptoms mimic those of panic and anxiety attacks, which is why many people fail to call 911 when they should. One doctor has this to say, however: “Chest pain, shortness of breath – those are things you should come in the middle of the night to the emergency department and get checked out. We strongly recommend you don’t try to ride it out at home.” Heeding this advice could save your life.
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