Sudden cardiac arrest also affects people in good health

Christiane Fux studied journalism and psychology in Hamburg. The experienced medical editor has been writing magazine articles, news and factual texts on all conceivable health topics since 2001. In addition to her work for, Christiane Fux is also active in prose. Her first crime novel was published in 2012, and she also writes, designs and publishes her own crime plays.

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Sudden cardiac arrest can hit anyone - as the latest incident at the European Championship preliminary round match Denmark against Finland on Saturday shows: The 29-year-old Danish top player Christian Eriksen unexpectedly collapsed on the pitch in front of tens of thousands of spectators in the stadium and millions of television viewers.

"It was a terrifying sight for anyone who saw it," said Professor Stephan Achenbach, President of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC), the world's largest organization of heart specialists.

"Preliminary reports suggest that Christian's heart has stopped beating on the pitch," said Achenbach. “He was extremely fortunate to have a medical team on hand to immediately begin compressing the chest. That probably saved his life. "

Sudden cardiac death: 65,000 victims per year

Every year around 65,000 people in Germany are not so lucky: They suffer sudden cardiac death. It begins with severe cardiac arrhythmias, known as ventricular fibrillation, which are followed by cardiac arrest within a few minutes.

Affected people lose consciousness and their natural breathing stops. After only three to five minutes without blood flow, the brain begins to die irretrievably - the emergency doctor almost never makes it that fast. The only salvation then are lay helpers who bridge the time until the emergency doctor arrives.

Only 40 percent dare to do chest compressions

"Cardiac arrest can occur anytime and anywhere," says Achenbach - and it can affect anyone, as the example of the healthy, medically well-monitored professional athlete Eriksen shows. “The question is, would you know how to react? Every second is crucial. "

This is exactly where the problem lies: although anyone can do the life-saving chest compressions - even a child! - many shy away from it. You fear doing something wrong.

According to studies, only 40 percent of Germans dare to take the first aid measure. "Chest compressions do no harm," says Achenbach, "but you save lives when someone actually has cardiac arrest."

In an emergency, the following applies: "Check - call - press"

If a person collapses unconscious, the necessary measures can be summarized in three keywords: "Check - call - press".

Check whether the person is approachable or reacts to shaking. If not, check your breathing.

Call the emergency number 112 or have someone else do it.

Press: Start with chest compressions. Free the person's chest and press the breastbone with all your strength 5 to 6 centimeters downwards with both hands - at a rapid rate (100 to 120 times per minute).

You can read more about chest compressions in the article "Resuscitation in Adults".

Undiscovered heart disease

The Sudden Cardiac Death Register (www.scd-deutschland.de) documents cardiac deaths in Germany.

Accordingly, most of those affected are older and have previous illnesses. However, the data also show that even young, supposedly healthy people and even athletes suffer from undiscovered cardiovascular diseases.

Common causes of sudden cardiac death in athletes under 35 are premature calcification of the coronary arteries, congenital malformations of the coronary arteries and myocarditis, which can also be caused by viral or bacterial infections. Therefore, after a supposedly recovered infection, you should not start again too early with the sport.

Christian Eriksen is now on the mend. The cause of his sudden cardiac arrest is still being investigated.

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