Cancer-survivor Popular Bengali Actress Aindrila Sharma passes away at 24 after multiple cardiac arrests- Can cancer cause cardiac arrest?

Celebrity News, Celebrity Death, Sudden Cardiac Arrest, Brain stroke, Aindrila Sharma

Popular Bengali actress Aindrila Sharma passed away after suffering from multiple cardiac arrests. She was also a cancer survivor. Now the question arises- Can cancer and its treatment affect the heart? Here's what experts have to say.

Cancer-survivor Popular Bengali Actress Aindrila Sharma passes away at 24 after multiple cardiac arrests- Can cancer cause cardiac arrest?

Overview

Aindrila Sharma, at the tender age of 24, passed away on Sunday 20 November 2022 after suffering from multiple cardiac arrests. A two-time cancer survivor, Aindrila was hospitalised on November 1 after suffering a brain stroke. According to reports, Aindrila underwent left frontotemporoparietal decompressive craniotomy. Experts say that cardiac arrest, heart attack and brain stroke are all closely related as they form part of a disease process called atherosclerosis. The fact that Aindrilla suffered from cancer and underwent treatment for it could have predisposed her to cardiac arrest or stroke.

What is a cardiac arrest?

Cardiac arrest is a sudden and an abrupt loss of heart function. It usually occurs when there is a problem in the heart's electrical system, making it difficult for the organ to pump sufficient blood to the brain, lungs and other organs.

Signs of sudden cardiac arrest are:

Sudden collapse
No pulse
No breathing
Loss of consciousness

How brain stroke, cardiac arrest and heart attack are related?

The brain stroke and cardiac arrest could be due to the clogging of arteries supplying the brain and the heart due to clots with or without cholesterol deposits but brain stroke can also follow a massive heart attack when any of the arteries are blocked and which causes formation of clot in heart and which actually migrates to brain and causes brain stroke. So basically, cardiac arrest, heart attack and brain stroke form part of a disease process called atherosclerosis. So, whenever there is an enhanced atherosclerosis (deposition of cholesterol plaques), because of stress, blood pressure, due to a drug, smoking, diabetes or any heavy exercise when your heart is not accustomed to it, the silent block that gets ruptured and that causes clot formation could lead to brain stroke or a heart attack. A severe heart attack can lead to cardiac arrest. Cardiac arrest is when the heart completely stops and is unable to provide enough oxygen, blood, and nutrients to different organs of the body, especially the brain. So this is how brain stroke, cardiac arrest and heart attack are interrelated.

Can cancer or cancer treatment cause cardiac arrest?

There is a relation between cancer itself and the risk of cardiac arrest. Not only treatment of the disease per se is linked with these instances. Cancer and malignancy increase the chance of clot in our vessels that happens mainly in the smaller vessels of legs and less likely in major vessels of heart, lung or brain. It is not the treatment; it is the disease itself. Patients who have cancer are at high risk of deep vein thrombosis which may lead to damage to heart, lungs and brain which can lead to blockage of these vessels which can result in cardiac arrest, lung failure or brain stroke.

In severe cases of intracranial hemorrhage or ICH, the patient may become unconscious and require a mechanical ventilator for breathing support. If associated with increased pressure on the brain or irritability, it can cause sudden cardiac death due to variation in cardiac electrical function. It could happen due to hyper coagulable state due to underlying malignancy increases risk of multiple clotting or side effects of anti cancer drugs causing cardiac rhythm irregularities which throws clots to the brain. Coronary heart disease (CHD) along with other complications, can lead to Myocardial infarction (MI), which can even result in sudden death. The illness conveys critical suffering, impacts mental health, and requires momentary expenses for the treatment that can be a burden on the individual and the family when it occurs at a young age.

Any kind of cancer along with chemotherapy or radiotherapy can be associated with increased risk of heart attack or strokes.

It is because of two things- one is cancer itself is a prothrombotic state this means it can lead to clot formation in the arteries of brain or heart which can cause stroke or heart attack. Another thing is because of chemotherapy. There are some anti-cancer drugs which cause low heart function, formation of clots in the heart, increase in inflammation due to radiotherapy which can cause heart attack or brain stroke.

How cancer affects our heart?

Cancer can affect the heart in many ways. It can cause rhythm disturbances, it can cause heart attacks, it can cause low heart function called heart failure especially there are few cancer medications that can cause low heart function that can lead to heart failure leading to fatigue, breathlessness, swelling over feet, eyes and whole of the body.

Cancer survivor patients especially, breast cancer can have side effects of chemotherapeutic medications. Medications like adriamycin, cisplatin can affect your heart. The cancer patients must follow up with 2D echo to look for heart function and timely medications like beta blockers and ace inhibitors.