UNS — Heart health received renewed attention after the death of Indonesia House of Representatives (DPR) member; Nurul Arifin’s daughter, Maura Magnalia Madyaratri, widely reported on Tuesday (25/1/2022). The news was surprising to many, considering that Maura (27 years old) was pronounced dead due to cardiac arrest after her household assistant found her unconscious on the dining table.
Nurul Arifin stated that before her death, Maura could not sleep following the preparation of her graduation ceremony in an Australian University, stress, and dropped health condition. Responding to the news, the cardiologist of Universitas Sebelas Maret (UNS) Surakarta Hospital, Habibie Arifianto, dr., SpJP (K)., M.Kes., explained that Maura’s case is commonly caused by genetic factors. He added that cardiac arrest is mostly caused by a disturbance in the electricity activities in the heart that could lead to fatal rhythmical disturbance causing loss of consciousness and even death.
“Cardiac arrest is fatal because when it occurs, the heart’s function to pump blood to the body stopped,” dr. Habibie stated to uns.ac.id on Wednesday (26/1/2022). This could stop the oxygen supply to the brain and other body organs, fatally, to the heart muscles. “When fatal heart rhythm disturbance occurs, there are only a few seconds until the patient shows symptoms, usually loss of consciousness, seizure, and collapse,” he added.
External heart massage could be done to help people who are experiencing rhythmical disturbance to help the patient recover their blood circulation and gain consciousness. But when nobody can perform the massage, the disturbance will continue, and the patient has slim chances to recover.
The Danger of Fatigue for Heart
dr. Habibie explained that Maura’s condition, according to her mom, could trigger the activities in sympathetic nerves responsible for increasing electricity activities in the heart, leading to fatal rhythmical disturbance in the heart. Cardiac arrest is different from heart attack because heart attack is caused by a blockage in blood vessels and causes terrible chest pain. In comparison, cardiac arrest is caused by fatal rhythmical disturbances caused by numerous factors, heart attack, genetic factors, and heart failure.
“Cardiac arrest is usually more deadly than heart attack,” dr. Habibie added.
However, cardiac arrest in young people is a rare condition, especially caused by rhythmical disturbances. He added that several genetical conditions could lead to sudden cardiac arrests, such as Brugada syndrome, Long QT syndrome, and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.
Cardiac Arrest Handling
Due to its fatality, a cardiac arrest requires serious assistance. People witnessing a cardiac arrest need to ask the medical team to provide an Automatic Electrical Defibrillator (AED), which is widely available in public places such as an airport or shopping centers. While waiting for medical support, people could help with an external massage or heart resuscitation. Therefore, it is vital to teach the community basic life support and the stakeholders to provide AED.
For the preventive steps, people with family records of sudden death at young age or often loss of consciousness should take a screening with cardiologists. “To find the possibility of heart rhythmical and structural problems that could lead to cardiac arrest in the future,” he concluded. Humas UNS
Reporter: Y.C.A. Sanjaya
Editor: Dwi Hastuti