Potential Grows For Fatal Massive Heart Attack

In many instances of sudden death attributed to a sudden fatal massive heart attack, there may actually be another reason to blame. Many times, after suffering a heart attack, the ventricular muscle is damaged causing an instability in the processing of electricity used by the heart to maintain its steady beat. The resulting instability can lead to development of arrhythmias causing unconsciousness and sudden death.

Most often arrhythmias occur with no warning and when traced are generally believed to have been caused by a previous heart attack that resulting in the scars on the ventricular muscle. Unfortunately, there is little being done concerning prevention of this from happening, even in patients where the ventricular scarring is evident. Left untreated, the patient becomes a prime candidate for what will be called a fatal massive heart attack.

The diagnosis of persons at risk for suffering from this type of sudden death is time consuming and expensive, and many people seem to believe that the cost of preventing a fatal massive heart attack outweighs the benefits, even with the real prospect being a longer life of the patient. However, the treatment for guarding against ventricular arrhythmia is not uncommon, as the use of pacemakers has been around for many years.

Devices Keep Heart Beat On Steady Pace

A pacemaker is surgically installed in a person s chest and wired into the heart. This battery-operated device is ready to react to any arrhythmia it detects and will shoot a short jolt of electricity into the heart to get the heart back to a regular heart beat. Using this device can help prevent a fatal massive heart attack for those who have suffered a previous heart attack.

While the use of pacemaker is often limited to those with serious need, they work essentially the same as the defibrillators used in emergency rooms and ambulances to shock the heart back into action when it is affected by an arrhythmia. So successful has the use of a defibrillator been in treating the symptoms of a fatal massive heart attack, that units are now available for home use. They are also being made available in many public areas for use in an emergency by those trained in their use.

Similar to Cardiovascular Resuscitation, training in the use of a defibrillator is mandatory for all emergency professionals and voluntary for many others. Many victims with a history of heart attack can have one on these items in their home to help prevent death from a fatal massive heart attack, in place of the more expensive and invasive procedure to install a pacemaker.