Author: Gary Jackson

Cardiac Arrest Causes and Risk Factors

This can cause you to develop an irregular heartbeat, called atrial fibrillation, which can increase your risk of stroke, heart attack and heart failure. You also might consider purchasing an automated external defibrillator (AED) for home use. AEDs help reset the heart’s rhythm when a person has sudden cardiac arrest.

We aimed to investigate the proportions and characteristics of SCDs occurring in the early and late stages of alcohol inebriation. Researchers enrolled 100 patients with paroxysmal or intermittent AFib, which tends to go away within a short period of time (unlike chronic AFib). Patients in the study were 64 years old on average; the majority were white (85%) or male (80%). Past medical history, medications and lifestyle habits were assessed through chart reviews and patient interviews. Participants were asked to press a button on the heart monitor each time they had an alcoholic drink.

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However, Dr. Cho points out that more recent data shows that there may be no amount of alcohol that is truly safe. “The myth that wine is beneficial for heart health is no longer true,” she states. Holiday heart syndrome can happen if you don’t typically drink alcohol, but then have a few at a holiday party or if you binge drink.

The legal regulations of the Republic of Korea and the ethical guidelines of the 2013 Declaration of Helsinki were strictly followed. In this autopsy-based study of SCD victims, we found that more than every fourth had alcohol in either blood or urine at autopsy. Most of the cases had higher urine than blood alcohol levels, referring to the late stage of alcohol inebriation. The most common causes of hypertrophy and fibrosis were CAD, hypertension, alcohol, and obesity. However, 3.5% had primary myocardial fibrosis, which is an especially common autopsy finding among young SCD victims6,7. A comprehensive toxicological analysis of urine and blood samples with a multi-technique approach was used.

In the present study, all the SCDs were determined to have a cardiac disease as the primary cause of death, while the preceding alcohol inebriation was considered as a contributing factor. Schematic illustration of study rationale and results are presented in Fig. When sudden cardiac arrest occurs, less blood flows to the brain. If the heart rhythm isn’t rapidly restored, complications may include brain damage and death. If a person regularly drinks more alcohol than experts recommend, they can speak with a doctor about cutting back.

Statistical analysis

The raw data cannot be shared due to legal regulation of Republic of Korea and policy of the K-NHIS. The datasets generated and analysed during the current study are not publicly available due to potentially identifiable nature but are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request. The study complies with the Declaration of Helsinki, and the Ethics Committee of Northern Ostrobothnia Hospital District and the National Authority for Medicolegal Affairs (Valvira) approved the study. Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, and Regional State Administrative Agency of Northern Finland approved the review of medicolegal autopsy data by the investigators.

Heart failure admission

Push hard and fast on the person’s chest — about 100 to 120 pushes a minute. This section collects any data citations, data availability statements, or supplementary materials included in this article. ACC.21 will take place May virtually, bringing together cardiologists and cardiovascular specialists from around the world to share the newest discoveries in treatment and prevention. Follow @ACCinTouch, @ACCMediaCenter and #ACC21 for the latest news from the meeting.

In cases where the damage to the heart is severe, the chances of complete recovery are low. Once the damage is considered irreversible, it’s difficult for the heart and rest of the body to recover. The American Heart Association (AHA) explains that drinking excess alcohol can raise triglyceride levels in the blood. High triglyceride levels, in combination with either excess low-density lipoprotein cholesterol or insufficient high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, can lead to fatty buildups in the artery walls. The diagnoses of AF, VA (VT, VFL, VF), and SCA were based on the record of International Classification of Disease, 10th revision codes (ICD-10) in the K-NHIS database.

Emergency treatment for sudden cardiac arrest includes cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and shocks to the heart with a device called an automated external defibrillator (AED). It’s important to note that alcoholic cardiomyopathy may not cause any symptoms until the disease is more advanced. At that point, the symptoms are often the result of heart failure. It is often characterized by a rapid, chaotic and fluttery heartbeat. Some may not feel anything, while others are overcome with severe shortness of breath, fatigue, fainting or near fainting spells and a disconcerting sensation that the heart is beating out of control.

  1. People with risk factors for heart disease should be particularly cautious.
  2. You should never consider wine or any other alcohol as a way to lower your heart disease risk.
  3. But there are ways that alcohol affects your body over time that are important to understand.
  4. They commonly include fatigue, shortness of breath, and swelling of the legs and feet.

Cardiac Arrest Causes and Risk Factors

Alcohol can affect your blood pressure, causing it to go up temporarily. Alcoholic cardiomyopathy is most common in men between the ages of 35 and 50, but the condition can affect women as well. People with alcoholic cardiomyopathy often have a history of heavy, long-term drinking, usually between five and 15 years. Heavy drinking is alcohol consumption that exceeds the recommended daily limits.

Can drinking too much alcohol cause a heart attack?

However, if the individual begins drinking heavily following a heart attack, the medications may not work effectively. Heavy drinking can cause high blood pressure, which increases a person’s risk of a heart attack. Male, non-smoker, no regular exercise, non-hypertensive, non-diabetic, and no dyslipidemia were set as reference values for each set of comparison. For values regarding income, low income (lowest quintile) was set as the reference for all-cause mortality, while high income was set as the reference for the rest of the diseases in interest. Some conditions that raise cardiac arrest risk run in families. Tell your healthcare provider about any blood relatives who have arrhythmias or cardiac conduction disorders, or had a cardiac arrest.

Alcohol and the risk of all-cause death, atrial fibrillation, ventricular arrhythmia, and sudden cardiac arrest

Additionally, frequent heavy alcohol drinking can damage the structure and function of the heart before symptoms occur. Irregular heart rhythms called arrhythmias cause cardiac arrest. Learn more about the types of arrhythmias that can lead to cardiac arrest. This is when a male rapidly consumes five or more alcoholic drinks within two hours or a female consumes at least four drinks within two hours. An alcohol binge can occur over hours or last up to several days. Alcohol in the form of ethanol, also called ethyl alcohol, is in alcoholic beverages.