Reviewed by Brian R. Robinson, MDCardiac arrest or sudden cardiac arrest refers to the heartbeat’s permanent or temporary cessation. This failure of the heart to pump blood through the body is dangerous and life threatening if left untreated. Each day, nearly 1000 Americans suffer from sudden cardiac arrest—most of these people are away from the hospital. More than 95% of them die, in many cases, because life-saving defibrillators arrive too late, if at all. The American Heart Association estimates that automatic external defibrillators (AED), if more readily available, could save 20,000 or more lives.
Sudden cardiac arrest, also known as sudden cardiac death, claims an estimated 250,000 lives each year, and, in the United States, is the leading cause of death. Abnormal heart rhythms called arrhythmias cause most sudden cardiac arrests. Ventricle fibrillation is the most common arrhythmia that causes cardiac arrest in which the heart’s electrical impulses to become suddenly chaotic, often without warning. This condition causes the heart to stop suddenly. Sufferers collapse and quickly lose consciousness. Death usually follows unless responders restore a normal heart rhythm. If a person does survive, they have an 80% chance of a one year survival, and as much as a 57% survival for five years following the attack.Cardiac arrest is often confused with a heart attack or myocardial infarction, which is a loss of blood to the heart tissue. Cardiac arrest usually occurs without warning. Warning signs of an impending cardiac arrest due to heart disease are:
- Squeezing discomfort or pain in the chest, or behind the breastbone, lasting more than 10 minutes
- Pain spreading up to the neck, out to the shoulders or arms
- Sweating
- Shortness of breath
- The person may feel sick in the stomach
If someone experiences these warning signs, medical attention should be sought immediately. If a cardiac arrest does occur, the person will need CPR from a bystander until the ambulance arrives with a defibrillator.
Emergency medical teams receive training to revive people from cardiac arrest by using the paddles of external defibrillators to apply strong electrical shocks to the chest. These shocks can pass through to the heart, which stops the erratic electrical activity, and allows the heart to return to a more regular rhythm.
Researchers and experts do no fully understand the cause of sudden cardiac arrest. Many victims have no history of heart disease. It can even happen to healthy people in the prime of their life.
