acute

Commotio cordis

Commotio cordis is a disruption of heart rhythm that occurs as a result of a blow to the area directly over the heart at a critical instant during the cycle of a heartbeat. The resulting sudden rise in intracavitary pressure leads to disruption of normal heart electrical activity, followed instantly by fibrillation, complete disorganization of the heart's pumping function, and . It is not caused by mechanical damage to the heart muscle or surrounding organs and is not the result of heart disease.

Underlined words are explained — tap any of them.

Causes — why it happens

·Sufficient blow to the precordium between 10 and 40 milliseconds before the peak of the T wave portion of normal rhythm

Treatment

·CPR, defibrillation

Complications

· fibrillation, quickly followed by and (if not treated) death

Outlook

·Survival rate drops to <5% if not resuscitated within 3 minutes

More in Heart

Coronary artery disease Heart failure Arrhythmia (atrial fibrillation)Cardiomyopathy Heart valve disease Rheumatic heart disease Congenital heart defect Heart attack Cardiac arrest Myocarditis Aortic stenosis Long QT syndrome

See all of Heart →

Plain-language summary adapted from Wikipedia. Not medical advice.