What Cardiac Arrest in Pediatrics Is Most Commonly Caused By
Children should live their youth free from medical worries and health problems. However, this idealistic vision of childhood doesn’t account for accidents, preexisting health conditions, and more. Kids sometimes face unforeseen health challenges. If you want to learn more about cardiac arrest in particular, here is what cardiac arrest in pediatrics is most commonly caused by.
Respiratory Problems
In medicine, a disease or condition’s etiology refers to its origins and causes. For children with cardiac arrest, the most probable etiological source is a respiratory problem. These respiratory issues can range from one-off incidents like choking to lifelong conditions like asthma or allergies. Other heart-linked respiratory events include smoke inhalation and drowning—both of which stem from life-threatening breathing difficulty that can lead to cardiac arrest.
Cardiac Conditions
Another way children can experience cardiac arrest is through underlying heart conditions. Congenital heart disease and structural cardiac disease are the most common of these causes. Congenital heart disease is a birth defect referring to heart abnormalities from birth. This means an infant’s heart operates abnormally and will require lifelong monitoring for complications. Structural cardiac disease is similar to congenital disease, but it includes all structural changes that develop over a person’s lifetime. Age and underlying diseases can cause this condition to take full effect. If you don’t know whether your child’s heart is structurally intact, you should visit a cardiologist for a full evaluation.
Traumatic Events
While many people know about trauma in the psychological sense, trauma also refers to injurious physical contact. For example, blunt force trauma to the chest happens when a quick, jarring movement sends a large amount of force into the body, resulting in injury. Traumatic events that cause cardiac arrest in children include blunt trauma to the chest or head, drowning, or severe bleeding.
Knowing what cardiac arrest in pediatrics is most commonly caused by help parents and childcare professionals better handle medical emergencies. If you need to refresh your BLS training, check out our course schedule online. We are one of the top training sites for American Heart healthcare providers BLS certification in NYC, so trust our professional instructors to teach you the best pediatric CPR and BLS techniques.