What is SCA?

Reference: http://www.savingyounghearts.org
ParentHeartWatch

SCA claims the lives of over 400,000 people in the United States every year;
an estimated 14,000 are children.

SCA occurs when the electrical system to the heart malfunctions and suddenly
becomes very irregular. The heart beats dangerously fast. The ventricles may
flutter or quiver (ventricular fibrillation), and blood is not delivered to the body.
SCA is not a heart attack. Heart attacks occur when there is blockage in one or
more of the arteries to the heart, preventing the heart from receiving enough
oxygen-rich blood.

Many victims have no prior history of heart disease and are stricken without
warning.

When SCA strikes, every minute counts; every minute that a victim goes without
defibrillation the chances of survival decrease by 10%.

Most cases of SCA can be prevented by early detection.

What are some of the risk factors?

Premature birth

Family history of heart disease

Family history of unexplained fainting or seizures

Family history of unexplained death (under age 50 years)

What are some of the causes of cardiac arrest?

Congenital (run in families) or acquired (viral illness) diseases

Heart conditions that result from abnormal heart structure or functions

A primary abnormality in the electrical system of the heart

An impact to the chest

Drugs or medications that affect the electrical system of the heart
Click Here for a list of these drugs

What are some of the symptoms of a possible cardiac problem?

Bluish tint to skin, lips and fingernails

Chest pain or pressure

Fainting or seizures

Heart Murmur

Palpitations (skipping or racing heartbeats)

Shortness of breath

Stomach ache

Tiring easily during exercise or activity

What are the most common diseases/defects that cause cardiac arrest?

Cardiomyopathies

·        Dilated Cardiomyopathy (DCM) – this is the most common form of the
disease and occurs when heart muscle tissue is enlarged and stretched,
making it difficult for the heart to function.

·        Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM) – this is the second most common
type of cardiomyopathy and result in excessive thickening of the heart walls.
Blood flow is restricted as the heart chambers become smaller and stiffer.
Most often, it is inherited but sometimes the cause is not clear.

·        Restrictive Cardiomyopathy (RCM) – this is a condition where the rhythm
and pumping action may be healthy, but the stiff walls of heart chambers keeps
them from filling normally. Blood flow is reduced and blood that would normally
enter the heart is backed up in the circulatory system.

·        Arrythmogenic Right Ventricular Dysphasia (ARVD) – is a form of
cardiomyopathy in which the heart muscle of the right ventricle is replaced by
fatty tissue. As a result, the heart’s ability to pump blood is weakened.

Primary Electrical Diseases

·        Brugada Syndrome – an arrhythmia that causes the bottom chambers of
the heart (the ventricles) to beat so fast that they can prevent blood from
circulating efficiently in the body. When this occurs it is called ventricular
fibrillation.

·        Catecholamineric Polymorphic Ventricular Tachycardia (CPVT) – is a
disorder triggered by exercise or stress in which the heart’s pumping chambers
go into uncontrolled rhythms that do not pump blood effectively.

·        Long Q-T Syndrome (LQTS) – is a disorder of the heart’s conduction
system that affects the recharging of the heart after each heartbeat. LQTS is
usually inherited. In other cases, LQTS can be caused by certain medicines or
neurological disorder.

·        Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome (WPW) – is an abnormality of the heart’
s electrical system. In patients with WPW, there is an extra electrical pathway
between the upper chambers and the lower chambers. This condition can
create a “short circuit” in the electrical system and lead abnormally fast heart
rates (tachycardias).

Mitral Valve Prolapse (MVP) – is a disorder that affects one of the heart’s
valve---the mitral valve. It occurs when the valve doesn't’t close properly
allowing backward leaking of blood in your heart. This may cause some people
to get an infection that allocates in the valve when they have dental work or
surgery.

Myocarditis – is an inflammation of the muscular wall of the heart that causes
the pumping action of the heart to weaken and enough oxygen-rich blood is not
supplied to the body. It may be caused by viral, bacterial or fungal infection.

Kawasaki Disease – is characterized by inflammation of blood vessels
throughout the body, especially the coronary arteries of the heart.

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What is Sudden Cardiac Arrest?