The Internet is still buzzing over the untimely death of YouTube relationship guru Kevin Samuels.
Samuel’s mother, Beverly Samuels-Burch, confirmed he died of a cardiac arrest on Thursday morning. Paramedics found him in full cardiac arrest and unresponsive on the floor of his Buckhead apartment.
A cardiac arrest means the heart suddenly stops beating and blood stops flowing to the brain and other vital organs. The person passes out (from lack of oxygenated blood to the brain) and stops breathing.
Brain cells begin dying about 1 minute later if a heartbeat is not restored.
The survival rate for people who experience a cardiac arrest outside of a hospital is less than 10 percent.
A cardiac arrest is usually caused by an irregular or abnormal heartbeat (arrhythmia), underlying medical conditions (such as heart disease), street drugs, prescription medications, smoking, or trauma (gunshot or stab wound).
Most laypeople – even healthcare workers – use the terms “cardiac arrest” and “heart attack” interchangeably. But they are very different.
Approximately 90% of people hospitalized with a heart attack will survive.
A cardiac arrest is usually not survivable without immediate medical intervention.
Those diagnosed with heart disease are at higher risk of suffering a cardiac arrest.
Cardiac arrests can also occur in young people with no signs of heart disease. In fact, cardiac arrest is the leading cause of death among young athletes.
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