HOW COULD DEMEROL CAUSE CARDIAC ARREST?
Cardiac arrest occurs when the heart stops circulating blood. In 80 per cent of cases, the cause is heart disease, but narcotic painkillers like Demerol can cause cardiac arrest. Dr. Daniel Simon, chief of cardiology at University Hospitals Case Medical Center in Cleveland, said if Jackson had been injected with too much Demerol, it might have caused him to stop breathing, a condition called respiratory arrest. “The most likely scenario with Demerol would be that it caused a respiratory arrest because it takes away the drive to ventilate (breathe),” Simon said in a telephone interview. He said low blood oxygen can trigger a deadly heart rhythm known as ventricular fibrillation in which the heart quivers but does not circulate blood. “Without CPR and a defibrillator, you have no chance,” Simon said. DEMEROL AND OXYCONTIN? ABC News has reported that Jackson was addicted to prescription painkillers, and may have used Demerol in combination with Oxycontin. Cleveland Clinic cardiologist Dr.
