Contents:
- Medical Video: Is A Brain Dead Person Actually Dead?
- What are the causes of cardiac arrest?
- The brain dies in minutes after the heart stops
- What should be done when the heart stops suddenly?
Medical Video: Is A Brain Dead Person Actually Dead?
Cardiac arrest or cardiac arrest is a serious medical condition when the heart stops beating suddenly. It is not impossible if this condition can result because the heart is no longer functioning. The brain is usually the last "dead" organ when someone is said to be lifeless. However, how long does it take for the brain to actually die after the heart stops pumping blood throughout the body?
What are the causes of cardiac arrest?
There are a number of factors that can cause the heart to stop suddenly. But generally, ventricular fibrillation and atrial fibrillation are the start of cardiac arrest.
Look, the heart has four main chambers (chambers), with details of two chambers located below (ventricles) and two spaces above (atrium). The sudden appearance of electrical force disorders in the heart muscle will automatically make all the heart chambers move out of control. Or in other words, the rhythm and heartbeat changes suddenly (arrhythmia).
Then automatically, the heart cannot carry out its duties optimally to pump blood throughout the body. Cardiac arrest can be fatal risk because the vital organs in the body are unable to obtain adequate amounts of blood.
In addition, someone who had previously suffered damage to the heart, forced to do vigorous exercise, lose a lot of blood, until hypothermia, can also cause the heartbeat to stop.
The brain dies in minutes after the heart stops
Medically, you generally lose consciousness in 20 seconds after the blood stops flowing in the body, quoted from Very Well Health.
It should be underlined that "unconsciousness" here does not mean that your brain stops functioning. Your brain is still functioning even if you are unconscious, but just not capable enough to keep your body awake. You are even expected to still be able to survive in a semi-conscious condition even though the pulmonary and cardiac function has stopped.
Over 20 seconds, the cerebral cortex (the part of the brain that functions as a place of logical thinking) will begin to weaken gradually. Furthermore, the supply of the remaining oxygen to the new brain will begin to run out within two minutes.
Approximately 3-4 minutes after the heart stops, the brain no longer gets the blood supply at all resulting in cell damage and organ death. This is the reason why most cases of cardiac arrest often lead to death.
What should be done when the heart stops suddenly?
Before it is really late and fatal, there is still an opportunity to deal with cardiac arrest. How to do it Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) aka cardiac resuscitation as soon as possible.
The faster CPR is given, the greater the likelihood that the person will be saved. Because the heart stops, the brain is not just running out of blood and oxygen. A lot of blood will also be trapped in the brain until it is difficult to get out. As a result, there is a buildup of acid, free radicals, and other chemicals that harm the brain.
