Top 5 Factors that Elevate Your Chance of Sudden Cardiac Arrest

October 02, 2021 | 2 minutes read time

Sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) occurs when the heart’s electrical system doesn’t function properly.

In almost 95% of cases, SCA leads to death. It’s because most people who live alone can’t get CPR on time or are living with someone who doesn’t know CPR. To prevent brain death, the patient needs an ER squad within 10 minutes.


This makes the knowledge of risk factors even more important in order to prevent SCA. In this blog post, the best cardiologist in South Delhi explains the top 5 factors that can increase your chance of SCA.

1. Smoking
If there’s one factor that can dramatically elevate your chance of both SCA and heart attack it’s smoking.

2. Poorly Managed Heart Failure
If you have underlying symptoms of heart failure such as exercise intolerance and shortness of breath, you need medication.

Drugs such as beta-blockers and ARNI will lower your chance of SCA and improve heart function, suggests the best cardiologist in South Delhi. However, no medicine should be taken without consultation and prescription.

Therefore, if you have heart failure symptoms, they need to be managed properly.

There are devices which can be implanted in carefully selected patients which improve the quality of life and increase survival in these patients.

3. Family History
There are many people whose first-degree relatives (siblings or parents) died of unknown reasons or died young without any apparent reason. A sudden cardiac arrest is often found to be the cause in such cases.

Hence, if you have a first-degree relative that died of SCA, it’s best to take preventive measures now, recommends the best cardiologist in Delhi NCR.

4. Low Ejection Fraction
If your heart has less than a 35% ejection fraction, it cannot beat as efficiently as it should, and neither can it pump enough blood. In such a case, the best cardiologist in South Delhi advises putting in a cardiac defibrillator to treat irregular and rapid heart rhythm episodes.

5. Scarring
A scarred heart muscle can also cause a sudden cardiac arrest. It can cause electrical signals to become fragmented and confused, explains the best cardiologist in Delhi NCR. Cardiomyopathy and heart attacks are common causes.

Autoimmune conditions, viral infections, and chemical toxicity can also cause scarring of the heart muscle.

Even heart attacks can cause scarring which is a risk factor for SCA.

Book an Appointment
Dr. Vanita is one of the best cardiologists in Delhi NCR and the winner of many awards including the “Chikitsa Ratan” and “Rising Star in Cardiology”.

Over the decades, she has saved numerous lives and is committed to saving more with her expertise in AICD implantation, pacemaker implantation, radiofrequency ablation, and sudden cardiac arrest.

Call +91 98738 79994 to book an appointment, submit this form, or email at doctorvanitaarora@gmail.com