Sudden cardiac death: the perspectives of Spanish survivors

Abstract

Sudden cardiac death is an episode of sudden death from cardiac causes in previously healthy patients. The aim of this study was to investigate the life experiences of patients who were resuscitated successfully following a sudden cardiac death. Purposeful sampling was used to recruit the nine participants through the snowball technique. Unstructured interviews were carried out until data saturation was reached. The Giorgi method of analysis, which seeks to reduce the participant's experience to minimal thematic units, common thematic groups, and essential themes in order to describe it, was used. Four essential themes were found: "facing fear"; "the search for meaning"; "feeling death up close and personal"; and "loneliness and estrangement". Nurses must integrate the lifestyle changes of patients who survive a cardiac death in order to provide adequate care following hospital discharge. Patients should undertake follow-up programs in order to receive counseling from health professionals. As a result, the creation of interdisciplinary support groups and the implementation of follow-up programs after hospital discharge are fundamental. Survivors' experiences can inform the development of nursing programs and hospital follow-up services that address the survival of cardiac death.

The experience of sudden cardiac arrest: Becoming reawakened to life

“…With the act of placing the family first, concern for family members' experience and their need for support arose. Similar results have been reported in previous studies, 12,13,26,28 in which participants expressed gratitude for being alive, developed a new perspective on life and learned to live again.…”

“…In a Swedish study 12 as well as in a Spanish study, 13 both including nine SCA survivors, the findings show how the cardiac arrest suddenly changes their lives. The survivors do not have a clear understanding of what has happened or its meaning.…”

“…13 Regaining former life was therefore essential, but that goal proved difficult to attain as a result of physical and cognitive limitations. However, participants reported minimal limitations in physical functioning which could possibly be explained by the timing of the interviews.…”

Psychological wellbeing in survivors of cardiac arrest, and its relationship to neurocognitive function

“…This is in keeping with the review by Wilder Schaaf and colleagues, 11 and qualitative research, which demonstrate a particularly high prevalence of anxiety compared with depression. 20 Indeed, informal feedback from patients suggested that the difficulty of recovering emotionally from their experience far exceeded any physical challenge of rehabilitation. A higher mean level of anxiety despite a normal level of depression and stress suggests that using non-specific measures could omit individuals in need of psychological support.…”

Revealed by degrees: Patients’ experience of receiving information after in‐hospital cardiac arrest

“…Others had not received enough information, had received contradictory information or did not receive answers to their questions in time and therefore needed to ask questions. Palacios‐Cena, Losa‐Iglesias, Salvadores‐Fuentes, and Fernandez‐de‐las‐Penas (), in another study that did not specify whether the cardiac arrest occurred in or outside hospital, showed that the patients were afraid that it could happen again, which affected various aspects of their lives. They searched for a reason for what had happened but received no clear answers and felt frustration.…”