The Role of Post Cardiac Arrest Care in the Chain of Survival

November 15, 2023

A few years ago, the American Heart Association added “Recovery” to the out-of-hospital sudden cardiac arrest chain of survival. The survival rate for out-of-hospital sudden cardiac arrest is very low, but when someone does survive, physical and emotional recovery is crucial for the ability of the patient to live a long and normal life.

At Defibtech, we would like to say thank you to all of those who help sudden cardiac arrest survivors with their physical and emotional recovery process. It takes an army of people to provide this support including, but not limited to nurses, cardiac rehabilitation staff, doctors, therapists, and family. It is these people who truly help survivors take those first steps outside of the hospital doors to embark on the journey to a full recovery from sudden cardiac arrest.
 

Doctors

Doctors provide the scientific guidance for patients to be safe and live their life. They treat patients, monitor them, and guide them as they move into the next phase of their lives. They follow up with patients frequently to make sure they are staying healthy, their medication is working, and they are safely living their life.
 

Nurses

Nurses spend more time with patients than anyone. Oftentimes, when patients are in the hospital and have a question, the first person they can ask is a nurse. A nurse is not only using their medical expertise to ensure the patient is improving, receiving medications they need, and more but they are also a sounding board when the patient is having anxiety or nervous about how they are feeling.
 

Cardiac Rehabilitation Staff

Exercise is important for everyone, whether you are a sudden cardiac arrest survivor or not. While exercise is important, it is important that sudden cardiac arrest survivors are able to exercise safely. Cardiac rehabilitation is a way to ensure that is happening. Cardiac rehabilitation is supervised by medical professionals and includes physical activity, education about healthy living, and counseling to improve stress and improve mental health.
 

Therapists

While the physical recovery from sudden cardiac arrest can be an arduous one, the mental recovery is just as important. Oftentimes, sudden cardiac arrest survivors are scared of suffering another sudden cardiac arrest, scared of getting shocked by their ICD, and struggling with survivor’s guilt and questioning “why me?” Meeting with a therapist who specializes in these issues is an important step for all sudden cardiac arrest survivors to move forward with their lives.
 

Family

We spend the most time with our family. The support from a family is extremely helpful for a sudden cardiac arrest survivor in their recovery. They may need help with getting to appointments, understanding recommendations from the doctor, and reminders to take medication. There are many things going through the mind of a survivor and the support from family members is imperative to help them move forward with recovery.

We would like to sincerely thank these people and everyone involved with helping sudden cardiac arrest survivors throughout their recovery. Without them, it would be even more challenging for survivors to navigate the next steps in life after sudden cardiac arrest.

To learn more about Defibtech and to join us on our quest to save lives from sudden cardiac arrest, visit www.Defibtech.com.

Sources:

https://newsroom.heart.org/news/recovery-an-important-link-in-chain-of-survival-for-cardiac-arrest-survivors-caregivers

https://www.cdc.gov/heartdisease/cardiac_rehabilitation.htm#:~:text=Cardiac%20rehabilitation%20is%20a%20supervised,stress%20and%20improve%20mental%20health.