Deep Dive: Cardiac arrest

Katherine Patton

Department of Biology, Old Dominion University

BIOL 293 Cell biology

Dr. Christina Steel

March 3, 2025

One can only go so long living in the United states before they hear a mention of cardiac arrest. Whether from a tv show, radio, a conversation , or on social media- cardiac arrest is something that comes up in many people’s lives, whether by mention or as an actual event. I decided to do some searching and look for more information on cardiac arrest. I assumed that since it was such a prevalent issue for the United states, that a simple google search would show me the right direction and provide good resources. Thankfully this assumption proved to be true: with one google search about the definition of cardiac arrest, I was met with information about multiple national organizations and government associations dedicated to heart health, providing additional resources and educating the public. These included The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, as well as the Sudden Cardiac Arrest Foundation.

I learned that Cardiac arrest is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops pumping blood (NHLBI, 2022). According to the Sudden cardiac arrest foundation’s review of the American Heart Association’s May 2022 statistics, there are an estimated 350,000 cases of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, translating to approximately 0.2% of the American population (Newman M., 2022). The National heart, Blood, and Lung Institute states that irregular heart beats, called heart arrhythmias, are what cause cardiac arrest, but sometimes the cause can be unknown. (NHLBI, 2022). The institute details that binge-drinking, recent use of certain stimulants or depressants, large caffeine intake, and significant mental and physical stress can act as triggers (NHLBI, 2022). There are also factors that increase risk of cardiac arrest. Males have significantly higher rates of cardiac arrest, and individuals under 30 rarely experience cardiac arrest. Additionally, post- menopausal females have a significantly higher rate compared to their pre-menopausal counterparts. The institute also determines that other issues with heart health can significantly raise the chances of cardiac arrest- with most people who had cardiac arrest outside of the hospital having coronary heart disease, detected or not (NHLBI, 2022).

This research on cardiac arrest prompted me to inquire about the effects it has on the body, as well as the recovery rates and available treatments. Cardiac arrest causes the heart to stop pumping blood, and as a result, many organs may not have sufficient blood flow and proper oxygen supply- this brought me to the term “Ischemia and reperfusion”. Ischemia and reperfusion is when there is an initial restriction of blood and oxygen to an organ, followed by the organ receiving proper oxygen and perfusion (Eltzschig K. et al., 2011). There are health concerns associated with this event, such as a reperfusion injury. In a reperfusion injury, the return of blood flow can cause inflammation and further injury to the organ, and is a large concern in cardiac arrest patients.

I had looked into how cardiac arrest effects the body, as well as its triggers, but had yet to truly look into any treatments, or theoretical/experimental treatments that could be a possibility in the future. My search brought me to various PubMed articles and studies, where I found that mitochondrial transplantation is a process that might be able to be utilized to treat individuals with damaged muscle-including the heart after cardiac arrest (Hayashida et al., 2023). It is currently poorly understood, and there is much research to do before practical applications in hospital settings can be achieved. (Hayashida, et al., 2023). Regardless, it holds promise to be able to someday improve survivability for cardiac arrest and resulting complications, which are a huge strain on the American population.

References

American Heart Association. (2022, January 6). Heart disease and stroke statistics—2022 update: A report from the American Heart Association | Circulation. Heart Disease and Stroke Statistctics-2022 Update: A report from the American Heart association. https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/CIR.0000000000001052

Chen J, Zhong J, Wang LL, Chen YY. Mitochondrial Transfer in Cardiovascular Disease: From Mechanisms to Therapeutic Implications. Front Cardiovasc Med. 2021 Nov 26;8:771298. doi: 10.3389/fcvm.2021.771298. PMID: 34901230; PMCID: PMC8661009.

Eltzschig, H. K., & Eckle, T. (2011, November 7). Ischemia and reperfusion–from mechanism to translation. Nature medicine. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3886192/

Hayashida K, Takegawa R, Endo Y, Yin T, Choudhary RC, Aoki T, Nishikimi M, Murao A, Nakamura E, Shoaib M, Kuschner C, Miyara SJ, Kim J, Shinozaki K, Wang P, Becker LB. Exogenous mitochondrial transplantation improves survival and neurological outcomes after resuscitation from cardiac arrest. BMC Med. 2023 Mar 16;21(1):56. doi: 10.1186/s12916-023-02759-0. PMID: 36922820; PMCID: PMC10018842.

Newman, M. M. (2022). Latest statistics. Sudden Cardiac Arrest Foundation. https://www.sca-aware.org/about-sudden-cardiac-arrest/latest-statistics

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2022, May 19). What is cardiac arrest?. National Heart Lung and Blood Institute. https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/cardiac-arrest#:~:text=Cardiac%20arrest%20occurs%20when%20the,they%20had%20a%20heart%20problem.

Yow, A. G. (2024, March 16). Sudden cardiac death. StatPearls [Internet]. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK507854/#:~:text=The%20overall%20survival%20of%20cardiac,to%20improving%20OHCA%20survival%20rates.