Paramedics performed CPR and administered a rush of adrenaline to get Lisa Marie Presley’s heart going again after she went into sudden cardiac arrest – and she will likely spend days on a ventilator
- Lisa Marie Presley suffered cardiac arrest at her home in California on Thursday
- Her current condition is unknown, but she was rushed to the hospital by medics
- On average, patients spend a dozen days in the hospital receiving treatment
Lisa Marie Presley, 54, went into “complete” cardiac arrest at her home in California on Thursday and needed CPR and a shot of adrenaline to get her heart going again.
The daughter of rock legend Elvis Presley and actress Priscilla was taken from her Calabasas home in an ambulance after undergoing CPR.
Ms Pressley’s current condition is unknown, but she will likely require hospitalization and be put on a ventilator while doctors do chest X-rays and blood tests to find the cause of the cardiac arrest.
Cardiac arrest occurs when the heart suddenly stops beating and denies oxygen-rich blood to the rest of the body, cutting off supplies to the brain and rendering someone unconscious.
Lisa Marie Presley, 54, was rushed to a hospital after paramedics responded to her home because she was in “complete cardiac arrest.”
Cardiac arrest occurs when a person’s heart suddenly stops beating. It’s different from a heart attack because it’s usually caused by a problem with the heart’s electrical rhythm
It is a life-threatening event that requires immediate medical attention.
The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends using adrenaline to increase blood flow in the body.
The chemical causes the blood vessels in a person’s body to constrict, diverting blood to key organs like the heart and lungs.
Usually a 1 mg dose is used along with CPR when resuscitating a person.
WHAT IS CARDIAC ARREST?
Cardiac arrest occurs when the heart suddenly stops pumping blood around the body, usually due to a problem with electrical signals in the organ.
This causes the brain to lack oxygen, resulting in those affected not breathing and losing consciousness.
More than 30,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests occur in the UK each year, compared to over 356,000 in the US.
Cardiac arrests are different from heart attacks, with the latter occurring when the blood supply to the heart muscle is cut off due to a clot in one of the coronary arteries.
Common causes are heart attacks, heart disease and heart muscle inflammation.
Medication overdose and major blood loss can also be to blame.
An electric shock through the chest wall via a defibrillator can restart the heart.
Meanwhile, CPR can keep the body circulating oxygen.
Some people remain unconscious after cardiac arrest and require intubation and ventilation on a ventilator to maintain their lung function.
Patients undergo a series of X-rays and blood tests to find the cause of the cardiac arrest.
A 2017 study conducted by the University of Iowa found that cardiac arrest patients spend an average of 12 days in the hospital.
The condition most commonly occurs when a person’s heart suffers from a disease that can cause its rhythm to malfunction.
These include ventricular tachycardia if it’s beating too fast, bradycardia if it’s pumping blood too slowly, or ventricular fibrillation if it’s operating with an abnormal rhythm.
The AHA says that scarring of heart tissue caused by a previous event, such as a heart attack or the development of cardiovascular disease, can also be risk factors.
Other risk factors include thickening of the heart muscle—usually due to high blood pressure, some medications, substance abuse, and blood vessel problems that can be triggered by heavy activity or an enlarged or inflamed heart.
In rare cases, cardiac arrest can be caused by a buildup of potassium in the body, called hyperkalemia.
These patients are treated with calcium and insulin regimens to negate the effects of potassium in the blood.
In many cases, they are also given diuretics that increase urination to remove the mineral from the body.
People who suffer from high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, obesity, smokers and an inactive lifestyle are most at risk.
More than 350,000 Americans are hospitalized for cardiac arrest each year, with 60 percent of patients being men.
It is estimated that almost all cases that strike a person outside of a hospital, 90 percent, will be fatal.