Don’t Miss Out on the Latest Updates.
Subscribe to Our Newsletter Today!
Veeru Devgan, father of Bollywood actor Ajay Devgan and a veteran action master, lost his life to cardiac arrest in the morning today. He is the man behind the famous fighting scenes of many iconic Hindi movies like Natwarlal (1979), Kranti (1981), Himmatwala (1983), Shahenshah (1988) and Tridev (1989) and Phool Aur Kaante (1991), among others. He also worked as a director in the film Hindustan Ki Kasam (1999). The ace stunt director, who had been suffering from geriatric issues for long, was admitted to the Surya hospital in Mumbai today after he complained of breathlessness. However, Veeru Devgan couldn t survive the onslaught of cardiac arrest.
Ajay Devgan s father isn t the only one who couldn t fight back this heart condition. Cardiac arrest is a potentially fatal condition with a survival rate as low as 15 per cent. According to some estimates, 50 per cent of all cardiovascular deaths are caused by sudden cardiac arrest (SCA).
In the medical fraternity, a cardiac arrest is defined as the sudden loss of heart function due to electrical disturbances in the heart. This disturbance disrupts heart s pumping action and stops blood flow to various organs of your body. This life-threatening health condition is characterised by symptoms like racy heartbeat, sudden collapse, loss of consciousness, breathing difficulty and no pulse. Before a cardiac arrest, a person may experience other symptoms like weakness, shortness of breath, chest discomfort, palpitations, etc. Usually, a patient with cardiac arrest does not have enough time to get a diagnosis done. But, if you are lucky enough to survive this heart ailment, your doctor may perform certain imaging tests and blood tests to figure out the underlying cause. Sudden cardiac arrest requires immediate action for survival. The emergency treatment that the patient receives within the first hour of SCA plays an important role in decreasing death risk.
The emergency treatments include cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and defibrillation. CPR involves two manual actions: Pressing the patient s chest repetitively and breathing into his airways. This technique ensures oxygen and blood supply to the brain until the normal rhythm of the heart is restored with an electric shock to the chest. The shock therapy is known as defibrillation.
There are certain heart conditions that can lead to a sudden cardiac arrest. These include coronary artery disease, heart attack, an enlarged heart and vulvular heart disease among others.
It is a heart condition that occurs due to blockage of major blood vessels that supply blood, oxygen, and nutrients to your heart. Cholesterol-containing deposits, known as plaques, are responsible for this blockage. This can cause damage (inflammation) to the coronary arteries and narrow these blood vessels decreasing the blood flow to your heart. During this condition, you will experience chest pain and shortness of breath. Complete blockage of these vessels due to continuous build-up of plaque can lead to a cardiac arrest. Various factors like age, sex, family history, smoking, high blood cholesterol levels, diabetes, a sedentary lifestyle, high stress, and unhealthy diet can increase your risk of developing coronary artery disease. An ECG, echocardiogram, stress test, or a heart CT scan can diagnose this condition. Drugs like beta-blockers, aspirin etc. are used to treat CAD while some lifestyle modifications can reduce its risk.
A heart attack occurs due to complete blockage of one or more heart arteries. This cuts the supply of oxygen-rich blood to the heart, damaging the cardiac muscles. When your heart is damaged, electrical malfunction occurs triggering irregular heartbeat. This leads to sudden cardiac arrest. Chest pain is the classic symptom of a heart attack, also known as myocardial infarction. The other symptoms include shortness of breath, restlessness, nausea, dizziness, etc. Your age, high blood pressure levels, excessive tobacco consumption and obesity can make you vulnerable to a heart attack. An ECG, blood test, chest X-ray, or coronary angiogram can help your doctor diagnose this condition. An open heart surgery or angioplasty is the common treatment for myocardial infarction.
Cardiomyopathy is a disease of the heart muscles. It occurs when your heart muscle becomes enlarged, thick, and rigid making your heart less efficient in pumping blood through the body. It also brings down the capacity of this organ to maintain a normal electrical rhythm leading to a cardiac arrest. If you have cardiomyopathy, you will experience symptoms like breathlessness, swelling of the legs, fatigue, rapid heartbeat, chest discomfort, dizziness, etc. Certain factors including long-term high blood pressure, heart valve problem, alcohol and substance abuse, iron build-up in the heart muscles, connective tissue disorder, etc. may contribute to the onset of this disease. To diagnose this condition, your doctor will perform certain physical examinations, and a battery of other tests including chest X-ray, echocardiogram, ECG, stress test, cardiac MRI, bloodwork, or CT scan. The line of treatment includes medications to control your blood pressure levels, slow down your heart rate, maintain a normal heart rhythm, prevent blood clots, reduce inflammation, so on and so forth. In severe cases, a heart transplant or surgical implantation of devices like pacemaker may be required.
Valvular heart disease is a condition that occurs when one or more heart valves do not work properly. Heart valves are needed to ensure the flow of blood in the correct direction. When one valve doesn t open or close properly, a disruption in the blood flow occurs. When your heart chambers become enlarged or weakened because of stress caused by a tight or open valve, the risk of developing arrhythmia (irregular heart rhythm) increases. This may lead to cardiac arrest. Valvular heart disease is characterised by an abnormal sound of heartbeat, fatigue, dizziness, fainting, irregular heartbeat, swelling of your ankles and feet, so on and so forth. Various factors like old age, hypertension, congenital heart disease, a history of heart attack or a cardiac infection may increase your risk of developing this condition. After examining your signs and symptoms, your doctor may recommend tests like echocardiography, ECG, chest X-ray, cardiac MRI, stress test, or cardiac catheterization for the diagnosis. The treatment depends on the severity of the condition. If oral drugs are not effective, surgical intervention to repair or replace your defective valve may be required.