Michael Jackson's death: Cardiac arrest explained

A cardiac arrest is a disruption of the electrical signals that trigger heartbeats, causing the heart to beat erratically so that it does not pump blood effectively.

The treatment is to use a defibrillator to shock the heart back into a normal rhythm, but that must be done very quickly — within about four minutes.

“Without a defibrillator, you are going to die,” said Dr. Douglas Zipes of Indiana University, a former president of the American College of Cardiology.

“The problem and the tragedy is that it has to be witnessed for the patient to survive,” said Dr. Leslie Saxon, chief of the division of cardiovascular medicine at USC.

Most are not.

“Survival rates outside of hospitals are less than 2%,” Saxon said.

In the absence of a defibrillator, CPR can keep blood flowing to the heart and brain until paramedics can arrive with the device.

But “you have to get to people very quickly if you are going to save them,” said Dr. Steven Nissen, head  of cardiovascular medicine at the Cleveland Clinic. “If it happens at home instead of in a public place, most paramedics can’t get to you that fast.”

In young people, such as athletes, the most common causes of cardiac arrest are thickened heart muscles and other congenital problems. In older people, the causes are the same as for other coronary problems: hypertension, high cholesterol and smoking.

The most common cause of cardiac arrest is a blockage of an artery — a heart attack. Less common causes include drug abuse and overdoses of some prescription medications. Jackson’s plastic surgeries almost certainly had nothing to do with his death.

With any surgery, the patient can have a clot that could lead to a cardiac arrest, “but that is usually something that occurs within a reasonably short period of time after a surgical procedure,” said Dr. Roberta Gartside, a plastic surgeon in Reston, Va., who is a vice president of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.

“There aren’t any surgical procedures that have a long-term potential complication that a patient might have a cardiac arrest,” she said.

It is equally unlikely that his vitiligo is involved. Vitiligo, in which patches of the skin lose pigment, has an autoimmune component that could potentially trigger cardiac arrest, “but usually autoimmune problems manifest in another way,” Saxon said.

-- Thomas H. Maugh II and Karen Kaplan

Orock Orock holds a sign outside the UCLA Medical Center, where entertainer Michael Jackson was taken, in Los Angeles, Thursday, June 25, 2009.  (AP Photo/Matt Sayles)

Use The Times interactive map to see significant sites in the life and death of Michael Jackson, including Neverland Ranch and his boyhood home in Gary, Indiana.

Comments

[Mark]

Jackson was diagnosed as having Lupus at the same time that the vitiligo was discovered. Lupus is know to cause inflammation to heart tissue which leads to damage. Other effects related to Lupus include progressive clogging of blood vessels which would also strain the heart. In short Jackson could have been a ticking time bomb from Lupus related damage.

[Paczki]

Jackson also did quite a bit of fasting. People who try to stay unnaturally thin are at risk of heart disease, like the models who died of anorexia.

[Martha D]

Lupus patients have 50 times the risk of a heart attack than the average person. I'm also a 50 person with Lupus. I'm 5'4" and weight 120lbs and must watch carefully the fats I ingest. I get excellent medical care from John Hopkins University and I participate in a lot of studies. So I agree that that Michael Jackson's lupus probably had something to do with his tragic death.

[judy]

Lupus explains the pain, fatigue, anxiety and neurological problems Jackson had in his life. Lupus can cause arterial sclerosis, resulting in a heart attack.
Minus the wealth, talent, fame and overdosing on our pain medications, this is a Lupus Patients Life.
Thank you! The world appears to be listening!

Judy
Lupus Support Group Facilitator