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6 months ago my husband was on a plane when he cardiac arrested twice. After all the test and examinations we still don't know why it happened. Is there anybody else in this situation. He is frightened that it will happen again.
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Exercise Heart disease Counseling Anoxic brain injury Memory Heart attack Cardiomyopathy
I would say a majority of us are in the exact same situation as your spouse. My 57 year old husband arrested while watching tv in 2007. They tried and tried to find a simple solution and explanation but really couldn't. They implanted an ICD and of course now he has "a weak heart" as the doctor tells him. Does your husband now have an ICD implanted? Because my husband lost 2 weeks of memory he wasn't so concerned about it happening again because to him it never happened at all!!!! Once I realized the importance of the ICD and how it is like his personal set of paramedics, I started to relax.
But I think the constant wondering of "why" this happened is the hardest to take. Finally as his spouse I had to realize that it did happen, they saved him and now it is up to us to keep him healthy and alive. I cannot tell people enough that counseling is imperative for both patient and spouse/significant other. This is life altering and only when we realize that we aren't alone out there, that there are others who are struggling with this life changing event, do we feel that we can move forward.
Best of luck to you both. This site has many people with the same fears and concerns as you have. Some have found reasons for their SCA, and others haven't. But we are all in this together and hopefully we can shed a light of hope on the new ones. Believe me, it does get easier. March 2008 was much better than March 2007. December 2008 is much much better than December 2007. We are approaching year #2 in February and I can finally watch episodes of ER without panic attacks (what we were watching onTV when it happened!). Good luck and keep checking in.
Maridee
Joanie,
Did they use an AED to shock the heart out of ventricular fibrillation?? Twice?
I to had a unexplained like yourself. They call them "idiopathy cardiomyopathy" which of course, means we don't know!!!
Special Cardiologists are working on digging out the answers to our events ...but to date haven't come up with a reassuring complete explaination as to why it happened to us!!!
All walks of life seem to be targeted with these SCA
attacks... from 8yrs old on up to 80.
The largest grouping seems to be from 55yrs. old to70.
What we CAN DO as preventative measures are suggested as follows:
1. Check one's CRP index level- That is, get a simple test of your C-Reactive-Protein level about the inflamation arterial wall levels. Studies show most SCA candidates might have had some high levels of inflamation triggering the electrical failure.
2. Get an Echo Cardiogram Test- To check your EF or Ejection Fraction: This will indicate your pumping strength of your heart's left ventricle.
Normal pumping level is 50 percent or slightly above that...Normal percentage then would be (50 low normal) to (70 high level) range. If it reads below 50..then mmm might be some kind of warning to check out the low Ejection Fraction or EF as it is called.
Doing both of the above might help save lives from this dreaded sudden cardiac arresting!!!
My attack was back in 9-11-02... over six years now and counting... I carry an AED in my car and home ...just in case...To date I'm still alive and fairly worry free because of my life style changes in diet and exercise. I get regular checkups...eat healthy foods and in small portions. (health is wealth) and maintain a decent weight (BMI 24) ,and a positive view on most all daily living events!
I loveeee my second chance at a long great life !!! Like you...I don't know...but must do what we need to do for peace of mind!
This is how I cope and go forward with my life today!
I hope this helps you Joanie and your husband
Gene
Hi I'm monika im 19 and september the same thing happend to me while i was driving and stopped at a red light. Luckily my boyfriend was in the car and he preformed cpr until the ambulance arrived and shocked me with the difibulator. I was in the hospital for two weeks. I woke up not knowing what had happend and not remembering anything besides the day before everything happend. Of course the doctors ran all the tests and came up with no explanations. I now have a internal difibulator to save me if it happens again but i am forever changed and im only 19. If anyone has some kind words to help or ideas please help me
Hi,
I think there a lot of us all in the same boat.
2 months ago I had a cardiac arrest (aged 32) and I'm now fitted with an ICD.
What I do find interesting is how we all have a memory void of 1-2 weeks. I cant remember things from a few days before until a week after it happened but I suppose all the drugs we are given in hospital has something to do with this.
The doctors have no explanation for what happened to me and I have had many tests to see if I have any of the many syndromes which causes adult sudden cardiac arrests. All I have been told is that there are probably several factors which all have to come in alignment for a cardiac arrest to occur and this may not happen for many years or if ever again, they just don't know. But just to make sure we are protected for the next (when and if) time it happens with an ICD.
I do feel at ease with the ICD as there are many success stories on this forum where they have saved peoples lives, times when people have their second CA but this time with no one around. The ICD has kicked in and got their heart back to normal rhythm.
Although even with that confidence I am still aware of our condition and have a heightened awareness of what my heart is doing. I tend to place my hand on my heart to feel if it beating irregular or I hold my ICD is as it is still tender in the area it has been placed. I guess as times goes on I will be less aware of my ICD and not be so worried about what my heart is doing.
Not sure if this helps but this is how I am feeling at the moment. I also want to know what sports I can do but I will place a separate post for that.
There are a number of good posts here about genetic testing. You might want to check them out. I had my SCA in 2006 at age 46, and we had no idea what was going on. No family history, no prior symptoms, no heart disease or structural issues, etc. They implanted an ICD as protection in case it happened again - and it did! Five months later I had 122 recordable episodes of VT and received 8 shocks on the ICD. It was the worst day of my life!
After that day, my cardiologist suggested a battery of genetic tests to try and find the problem. These tests were relatively new and not yet accepted by all insurance carriers (but I think this is getting better). These tests showed nothing.
At that point, I had a choice...I could do nothing or try one more test. I decided to test for Long QT, even though I had none of the classic symptoms (my ECG was fine, no family history, etc.). Much to all of our surprise, they found a marker for LQTS type 2. It has been such a blessing to get answers. It didn't change anything....but at least I can put a name on my condition, I know what the common "triggers" are, and my doc knows better how to target my treatment.
My super healthy, super fit husband had a massive heart attack at age 28, 100% blockage of the LAD from a blot clot and we still don't know why. They ran all the tests in the world and now are calling it a "fluke". I guess it happens to anyone, any age. He was down 20-40 minutes... such a long time! The good thing is he survived and his heart is doing well (Ejection Fraction of 51%) and his he has an anoxic brain injury which at this point I would call mild and everyday it is greatly improving.
I guess we can't always know why, but it still drives me nuts not knowing!
Well, we are in the same situation. My wife, Mary1 on this forum, had an unexplained SCA in July 2006 and a second one in December 2007. I happened to be there the first time, and her ICD saved her the second time.
I would like to expand on this forum's question: For all those of you that have had SCA's, is there ANYBODY for which this also happened to a relative?
We have three daughters who are all young adults. Mary is protected by her ICD, but I worry about our daughters. They have all been tested for known problems, but like Mary, nothing shows up.
My husband had his SCA a year ago. They couldn't find a real reason and he showed no signs of any more Vfib the entire time he was in ICU until they implanted the ICD. The only thing we could think of was that he had started taking a certain antibiotic about 2 1/2 hours before the SCA. In researching on the internet, there have been other reports of Vfib and SCA's after taking this med. His cardiologist has said that the med wasn't the cause, but we both think that it was or at least started the whole thing. Apparently the med messes up the electrolytes in some patients and also is contra-indicated for patients with LQT. However our doctor was unaware of this potential side effect. We reported it to the FDA, but nothing has been done.
Sue
Joanie,
I am so sorry for what has happened to you and your husband! My husband had an arrest too but we were able to find out why. I think not knowing would be even scarier that knowing. You have come to a great place to get the support you need as you travel down this path. I will be in prayer for you and your husband.
Diane
Yep - I think that if you're "lucky" enough to be diagnosed with a heart abnormality significant enough to have caused your SCA, then at least you have answers - but then you still have the heart abnormality.
Most of us, me included, are now perfectly healthy wondering "what the hell happened?"
I went through the same thing - all the tests, ICD, memory loss, follow up, genetic testing debacle, having the kids tested .... and on it goes.
But still no answers, so on with life.
The good thing is I feel GOOD - and normal. No side effects, no brain injury - I run, play sports with my kids, no worries.
So, I would take the SCA and not knowing what happened to cause it - but feeling great - to knowing what caused it and having to live with a heart abnormality.
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