Sudden cardiac arrest is a condition of the heart, characterized by unconsciousness and abnormal breathing pattern caused by the failure of the heart muscles to supply blood to the body. It may lead to death, if timely medical intervention is not made.

What causes SCA?

Arrhythmia or irregular heart beat is the reason for sudden cardiac arrest. In tachycardias, a type of Arrhythmia the heart beat tends to be too fast, more than 100 beats per minute, whereas in bradycardia, the heart beat is too slow. (Less than 60 beat per minute).
Uncoordinated contraction of the muscles of the lower chamber of the heart is known as ventricular fibrillation. This causes disruption in the synchrony between the heart beat and the pulse rate. If timely medical aid is not provided, it may consequently lead to asystole (absence of heart beat), and later death. Diagnosis for this condition can only be made by electrocardiography. Ischemic heart disease is the primary reason for the development of ventricular fibrillation. Ischemic heart disease results in reduced blood supply. In order to save a person from SCA, it is crucial to revive the heart to the sinus rhythm. Normal heart beat can be represented as a sine function (sinus rhythm). Any abnormality to this pattern may be an indication of heart disease. Ventricular fibrillation can be treated if and only medical intervention in the form of electric shock is provided within the time interval of 4 to 6 minutes.

How to treat SCA?

SCA and heart attacks are different in many respects. While heart attack is a result of blockage in the arteries, SCA is caused by ventricular fibrillation. In the event of the occurrence of heart attack the victim experiences severe chest pain but does not loose consciousness. SCA calls for immediate medical help as the victim does not have much time.

The course of action that needs to be followed is described below.

Call for medical help:  According to The American Heart Association in cases like these it is vital to provide immediate medical intervention to avoid the condition from worsening. Immediately, call 911 for medical access.

CPR: Early cardio pulmonary resuscitation can prove to be extremely beneficial for the victims of SCA.

Defibrillators: Defibrillators are medical aids that help in resuscitating the heart to its normal functioning. The defibrillator delivers an electric shock to the heart muscles, which in turn stabilizes the heart beat. Automated External Defibrillator's (AEDs) are defibrillators that can be used by any untrained individual by simply following the voice instructions.

Florida Heart Group has been providing cardiovascular services since 1979. We aim to provide the best medical care to each of our patients. At Florida Heart Group, our team of well qualified cardiologists and support staff understands the value of human life endeavors to assist people with cardiovascular diseases.

A sudden cardiac arrest is the condition when the heart unexpectedly stops working or beating. The blood then stops flowing to the brain and other vital organs. Sudden cardiac arrest typically results in death if treatment is not provided in time. In Florida, heart hospitals provide emergency treatments for sudden cardiac arrests.

The heart has an internal electrical system and this controls the heartbeat pattern. As per doctors in Florida heart hospital, problems with this system can cause abnormal heart rhythms known as arrhythmias. During an arrhythmia the heart may beat too fast, too slow, or it may completely stop beating.  Sudden cardiac arrest is the condition in which the heart develops an arrhythmia that causes it to stop beating.

As per cardiology doctors in Florida heart hospitals, it is important for heart disease patients to know the difference between heart attack and sudden cardiac arrest. It is the inadequate flow of blood to a part of the heart muscles that causes a heart attack but the heart does not stop beating. However, at times, a victim may have sudden cardiac arrest while recovering from a heart attack. To ensure that a heart attack is not followed by sudden cardiac arrest, it is very crucial to control the complications and provide quick treatments. The victim of a heart attack must therefore be taken to a Florida heart hospital in time.

Some of the factors that can lead to sudden cardiac arrest include:

Severe physical stress- This may be caused by a major blood loss or severe lack of oxygen. Very low levels of potassium or magnesium in the blood can also cause stress for a person. It has been noticed that people with weak hearts find it difficult to withstand strain and can become victims of sudden cardiac arrest. 

Coronary artery diseases – Coronary artery diseases cause blood vessels to harden or become narrow. When impacted arteries fail to carry blood to the heart and eventually cause a heart attack, certain heart tissues may die and become scar tissues. This also damages the heart's electrical system, increasing the risk for dangerous arrhythmias and sudden cardiac arrest.

Inherent disorders and structural changes in heart – The tendency to develop arrhythmias may sometimes run in the family and such inherent disorders become potential cause of cardiac arrest. Structural changes in the heart due to blood pressure and advanced heart diseases also lead to this condition. It is important to consult a doctor at a Florida heart hospital before the conditions worsen.

Florida Heart Group is a well known heart hospital in Florida. We have facilities for emergency angina treatment and for prevention of sudden cardiac arrests that follow angina and heart attack.

Cardiac PET (or cardiac positron emission tomography) is a form of diagnostic imaging which employs the use of radioactive isotopes. There are many types of isotopes used for Cardiac PET imaging; the most widely employed in clinical practice are Rubidium-82 and Nitrogen-13 ammonia.

The requirements to perform Cardiac PET imaging include:

• Facility: the clinic itself as well as providing maintenance and radioactive shielding
• Capital equipment: PET or PET/CT scanner
• Radiopharmaceutical: a generator system for the production of the isotopes or similar cyclotrons
• Personnel: includes a specially trained physician, radiation safety, physics, nursing, and technologist support
• Operations: stress test monitoring and emergency response equipment, processing and review workstations.

This form of diagnostic imaging was perceived as cost-prohibitive in comparison to general nuclear medicine cardiac stress testing using single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT). However, scanners have been much more readily available than before and also related to the widely accepted role of PET/CT in clinical oncology, cardiac PET is likely to become more widely available, particularly given various clinical and technical advantages that might make this a potential test of choice in the diagnosis of coronary artery/heart disease.

PET in general also has an expanded role in cancer therapy. It is used as a means to assess the response to the therapy.

Limitations
Cardiac PET like all other types of emission tomography is limited due to the relatively short life of the radioactive isotopes needed for the tomography to proceed. Widespread use of PET’s is limited also due to the extensive cost of cyclotrons needed for the production of the isotopes as well as the on-site chemical synthesis apparatus needed to produce the radiopharmaceuticals. Only few hospitals and universities are able to maintain such expensive equipment and most clinical PET’s are supported by third-party suppliers of radiotracers which can supply many sites simultaneously. This limitation restricts the use of clinical PET to the use of fluorine-18, which has a half life of 110 minutes and can be transported to a reasonable distance before use. Rubidium-82 is also used and is created by a portable generator used for myocardial perfusion sites.
 
Nonetheless, in recent years a few on-site cyclotrons with integrated shielding and hot labs have begun to accompany PET units to remote hospitals. The presence of the small on-site cyclotron promises to expand in the future as the cyclotrons shrink in response to the high cost of isotope transportation to remote PET machine. Lastly, because the half-life of flourin-18 is approximately 2 hours, the prepared dose of the radiopharmaceutical will undergo multiple half-lives of decay during the working day. There must be constant recalibration of the remaining dose as well as careful planning in patient scheduling.

Applications
Cardiac PET is one of the first clear applications of the then new PET technology. This imaging technique was then (and even now) used for evaluation of cardiac diseases. The use of Cardiac PET is mostly limited to the evaluation of myocardial perfusion and myocardial viability; of which this procedure has been going on for years. This method of evaluation has been proven to be accurate and reliable.
However, there has been little increase in progress to the use of Cardiac PET compared to the Oncological PET (tumor detection PET) but there is a great potential in the possible roles in the future such as the detection of a variety of cardiac processes.
 
Myocardial perfusion is assessed via injection of the radioactive tracers, as in all PETs. In research, both O – 15 water and N – 13 ammonia provide an accurate image for tracing. This is because the radiopharmaceutical readily diffuses across the cell membrane creating a very accurate reflection of myocardial blood flow. Since equilibrium of the tracer between the tissue and vascular spaces occur, sophisticated techniques are used to separate myocardial blood from blood pool activity.
 
This medical procedure is one of many available at the Florida Heart Group Clinic. Along with the SPECT Nuclear Stress Test and Ultrasonography, the Cardiac PET give the Florida Heart Group Clinic top of the line diagnostic imaging for cardiac patients.