Sequelae — the after-effects of a previous injury or illness — are perhaps the most underappreciated dimension of surviving a sudden cardiac arrest. While the resuscitation itself may last minutes, the consequences can persist for months or years. Yet many survivors leave hospital with little information about what to expect, and little support when the reality hits.
The after-effects of cardiac arrest fall broadly into three categories: physical and neurological, psychological, and cardiac. What follows is a guide to the most common challenges our members report — drawn from lived experience across thousands of survivors and co-survivors.
Physical and Neurological
When the heart stops, the brain is deprived of oxygenated blood within seconds. Even a brief period of hypoxia can cause an acquired brain injury, and the effects of that injury are wide-ranging and often invisible to others.
Fatigue is the single most commonly reported complaint among cardiac arrest survivors — an overwhelming, persistent exhaustion that is quite unlike ordinary tiredness. It can be physical, psychological, or cognitive, and it does not simply resolve with rest. If you are struggling with fatigue after your cardiac arrest, you are very far from alone, and our fatigue page explains what is happening and what may help.
Other frequently reported physical and neurological after-effects include memory difficulties, poor concentration and focus, sleep disturbance, post-CPR chest pain, and changes to the senses. Some survivors also experience speech and language difficulties (aphasia) or involuntary muscle jerks (myoclonus).
Psychological
Surviving a sudden cardiac arrest is, by any measure, a traumatic event — and not only for the survivor. The psychological after-effects can be just as debilitating as the physical ones, yet they are far less likely to be acknowledged or treated.
Anxiety is extremely common: the fear of it happening again, hypervigilance around the heart, panic in unfamiliar situations. Depression, emotional lability, and personality changes arising from brain injury are also frequently reported. Many survivors and co-survivors meet the clinical criteria for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), yet few are ever screened for it.
Co-survivors — partners, family members, and bystanders who witnessed the arrest or performed CPR — are equally vulnerable to psychological after-effects, and equally likely to be overlooked by services.
Cardiac
The impact on the heart itself depends on the underlying cause of the arrest. Survivors who had a heart attack prior to their arrest may have sustained heart muscle damage. Those with an underlying condition such as a channelopathy or cardiomyopathy may find the arrest is the first moment that condition becomes apparent. A significant and growing proportion of our members are diagnosed as idiopathic — meaning no definitive cause has been identified — which brings its own particular anxieties.
Many survivors are fitted with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) as a precaution against future events, which itself brings physical and psychological adjustments.
You Are Not Alone
Whatever you are experiencing after your cardiac arrest, the chances are that thousands of our members have experienced something similar. Our community is one of the most knowledgeable collections of lived experience anywhere — and joining us means you no longer have to navigate any of this on your own.