Support
Survivor
A cardiac arrest is a sudden event and for survivors can come with a long-term recovery. Everyone’s experience is different, and there may be many ups and downs during your recovery.
Many survivors experience mental, physical and emotional changes after the event.
Rehabilitation
After an arrest, survivors may be referred to different ongoing care services, such as diagnosis, clinical management, cardiac rehabilitation and psychology. Rehabilitation services aim to help you return to everyday activities, everyone at rehab has a personalised care plan and moves at their own pace. Cardiac rehabilitation programs can help build up your confidence for returning to work or activities you used to enjoy. This may include exercise physiology, occupation therapy and/or neurology support. Many patients do report benefits and improved quality of life from cardiac rehabilitation and it reduces the chance of a repeat event.​
However, there is currently a lot of variation in the management of survivors with differences in recommendations by healthcare professionals or access to services. The IMPROVE-SCA study aims to create a virtual platform to bring information to one place including details of pathways and services available. We hope this will bridge gaps and improve equity of access for survivors and family members.
Psychological impacts
This hospital experience can be a major adjustment. Survivors will have spent time in the hospital after their arrest and had the experience of waking up in a different environment. Frustrations can arise due to their length of stay while the cause of their arrest is investigated. Many feel overwhelmed due to lots of information being provided by many different health care professionals.
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Many survivors report they remember very few, if any details, of having a cardiac arrest. It is not unusual to have memory loss from before and after the event or ‘foggy’ or incomplete memories of your hospital stay. For some people, not having any memory of the event can be comforting. For others, it can lead to confusion or distress.
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Some people notice that they have new problems with their memory or attention which continue after they return home. Fatigue is the most common ongoing complaint for many survivors. Other common psychological effects include low mood, tearfulness, anxiety, irritability, and feeling easily frustrated. Some people notice that they struggle to perform tasks at work or home which they used to find easy. A sudden cardiac arrest may be difficult for survivors to mentally ‘put behind them’ and they may have a strong fear of another sudden cardiac arrest.
While many survivors experience challenges in their cardiac arrest recovery, there are others who feel like they are back to their usual selves after just a few weeks of recovery.
Each person’s journey will be unique, and it is important to think about whether you need more help than you are receiving. Speaking to your care team about any issues you face is helpful, as they can direct you to services and support which might help. These could include peer support, specialist doctors, a psychologist, or something else.
Friends/Family
Some survivors notice that the people around them are very worried about them after their arrest. For some survivors, seeing friends, family or a partner in a state of worry can be upsetting. You may find yourself providing them with support to try and help with their concerns, while also juggling your own recovery. Additional support is also available for the people around you. If you think that someone close to you is struggling after your sudden cardiac arrest, consider suggesting this to the person directly, or asking your care team or GP for advice.