Talk to family and doctors about what will happen once you go home and practical matters, like driving and returning to work.
It will take time to recover after a cardiac arrest, but your doctor will support you during this time. Each programme is different, but it usually involves regular assessments such as checking your pulse and blood pressure, psychological support, health education talks and exercise sessions. They may also refer you to cardiac rehabilitation to help rebuild your confidence, fitness and strength levels. They can then recommend medication and treatment, such as a pacemaker or implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD), to reduce the risk of it happening again. Mid-term recoveryĭoctors and cardiologists will want to work out what caused the cardiac arrest. You may have been put in an induced coma and kept asleep to allow your body to recover. Hear Ripon's story Recovery after a cardiac arrest Immediate recoveryĪfter a cardiac arrest, you’ll have been looked after in a coronary care or intensive care unit. Hear his story and other real experiences from people living with heart and circulatory diseases. Ripon was one of the 30,000 people to have an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest each year in the UK, and he probably wouldn’t be here if those two strangers hadn’t have stopped, called 999 and started CPR. It's vitally important to get medical attention immediately by calling 999 for an ambulance if you experience heart attack symptoms. The person will be conscious and breathing.Ī heart attack can lead to a cardiac arrest. The heart is still pumping blood around the body during a heart attack. This is often caused by a clot in one of the coronary arteries. What's the difference between a cardiac arrest and a heart attack?Ī heart attack and cardiac arrest are not the same.Ī heart attack happens when the blood supply to the heart muscle is cut off.
cardiomyopathy and some inherited heart conditions.a heart attack (caused by coronary heart disease).The main causes of cardiac arrest related to the heart are: VF happens when the electrical activity of the heart becomes so chaotic that the heart stops pumping, Instead, it quivers or 'fibrillates'. A common cause of a cardiac arrest is a life-threatening abnormal heart rhythm called ventricular fibrillation (VF).