The cause of 32 year old actress Brittany Murphy dying of cardiac arrest on Sunday morning is still unknown. Cardiac arrest is uncommon in young adults, risks of non-congenital cardiac arrest increase with age. Some of the common causes of cardiac arrest are congenital heart defects, drugs that affect the heart rate, an electric shock or other trauma to the chest.
What is cardiac arrest?
Cardiac arrest is the medical term for a stopped heart muscle. This often occurs due to a problem with the electrical system in the heart, which causes a fatal arrhythmia. Arrhythmia is the term for a change in the heart's rhythm. Changes in the rhythm can throw the heartbeat off, and eventually lead to the heart stopping.
Young adults, such as Brittney Murphy, dying of cardiac arrest
A young adult such as Brittney Murphy, dying at age 32 of cardiac arrest, is unusual. Risk factors of smoking, family history of heart problems, a personal history of heart problems, a lack of exercise, etc. can contribute to the risks of heart failure, but in a young adult the most common explanations are congenital heart problems and substance abuse. According to the American Heart Association, heart abnormalities can be affected by adrenaline, which triggers cardiac arrest after strenuous physical activity or during stressful events. In addition, some medications, including illegal drugs such as cocaine, can cause arrhythmias, which lead to cardiac arrest.