CPR AED / Trip to the gym ends in cardiac arrest for California woman

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CPR AED / Trip to the gym ends in cardiac arrest
for California woman
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Cathie Lazarus likes to tell people she has two
birthdays now. The one when she was born, and the
other when bystanders performed CPR after her
heart stopped on March 11, 2013. Lazarus, who
lives in Sherman Oaks, California, doesnt
remember much about the day she had a cardiac
arrest. She remembers going into the gym and was
later told she had complained of being
tired. The next thing she remembers is waking up
in a hospital three days later. Lazarus, then 51,
had collapsed while working out. Two bystanders
started CPR while a third went to get an
automated external defibrillator, or AED. The AED
was unable detect a shockable rhythm, so Lazarus
fellow gym members continued CPR until paramedics
arrived. I was really lucky to be in a public
place, Lazarus said. If it would have happened
an hour later, I would have been home alone.
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Nearly 360,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests
occur each year in the U.S., but despite
advancements in resuscitation science, only about
10 percent survive. Effective bystander CPR,
provided immediately after cardiac arrest, can
greatly increase a victims chance of
survival. It took paramedics half an hour to
stabilize Lazarus heartbeat. She was taken to
the hospital and put into an induced coma to
allow her brain to rest, before being revived
slowly after three days. Testing revealed she
had hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a thickening of
the heart muscle between the ventricles. Lazarus
had been born with the condition, which went
undiagnosed and created an obstruction, making it
more difficult for blood to flow through the
heart. Before leaving the hospital, Lazarus
received an implantable cardioverter
defibrillator, or ICD, that will provide a
lifesaving shock if the device ever detects a
dangerous heart rhythm.
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Lazarus had been told she had a heart murmur at
age 18 but that it didnt require treatment or
further monitoring. Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy
can be inherited, and tests following Lazarus
cardiac arrest revealed one of her sisters shares
the condition and also needed an ICD. Lazarus
started walking a few weeks after her cardiac
arrest. But it would be more than two years
before she joined a gym again. It was a really
big deal for me to get the nerve to do it, she
said. Today, Lazarus walks and hikes and tries
not to let any lingering fears about her cardiac
arrest hold her back. I went skydiving this
summer for the first time, she said. Im not
limiting myself. Surviving a cardiac arrest
opened her eyes to the importance of CPR. She had
undergone training when her two daughters were
young, but hadnt renewed it in more than 15
years.
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It was just one of those things that you knew
was important, but just got away from you,
Lazarus said. Now, Im hyperaware of it, and I
bring it up all the time to people. Lazarus has
made raising awareness about the importance of
CPR training a priority. As soon as she returned
to work, Lazarus convinced her employer to offer
CPR training, and encourages friends and family
to learn resuscitation skills and to understand
how to use AEDs. People write to me, saying,
Because of you, I got certified, she said. It
makes me feel good that people are taking it
seriously and getting trained. Less than eight
months after surviving her cardiac arrest,
Lazarus participated in the American Heart
Associations 2013 Santa Monica Heart Walk, and
was the events top fund raiser, netting nearly
8,000 in donations.
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Now 54, Lazarus shares her story at local events.
She also pushed for a CPR segment on Access
Hollywood, where she works in production. Ive
found my purpose now, she said. Its been two
and a half years, but I still think about it all
the time. Its still mind-blowing to me that I
survived. Learn more about CPR AED.
Bergenfield, NJ, Jersey City, NJ, Livingston, NJ,
and Queens, New York and Gainesville,
FL. Source https//newsarchive.heart.org