Without swift intervention, SCA is almost always fatal. (Heart attack survivors are at a greater risk of SCA than the general population and should take extra care to know their risk factors).
SCA is a more serious condition than many realize. In the United States alone, SCA kills 250,000 people each year, or to put it in perspective, someone dies of SCA every two minutes. That’s more than AIDS, lung or breast cancer combined. Unlike a heart attack, there is generally no time to wait for emergency services or get the victim to a hospital. Persons suffering an SCA even need immediate intervention in the form of either manual CPR or the use of an automated external defibrillator (AED).
Source:
Think Sudden Cardiac Arrest is a Heart Attack? That’s like comparing apples and oranges, Heart Rhythm Society, 04 Oct 2010, http://www.hrsonline.org/news/sca-awareness/index.cfm
Richard L. Page, MD,
Sudden cardiac arrest and heart attack: comparing apples and oranges, Cardiovascular Health, Sept 2010, http://www.hrsonline.org/News/SCA-awareness/upload/Full-Cardiovascular-H...
Heart Attack, Mayo Clinic, 20 Nov 2009, http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/heart-attack/DS00094/DSECTION=symptoms
Sudden Cardiac Arrest, Mayo Clinic, 22 Jul 2010, http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/sudden-cardiac-arrest/DS00764
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