What is cardiac arrest?

abrupt cessation of heartbeat.

Sudden cessation of heartbeat and cardiac function, resulting in the loss of effective circulation.

absence of systole; failure of the ventricles of the heart to contract (usually caused by ventricular fibrillation) with consequent absence of the heart beat leading to oxygen lack and eventually to death.

the heart just stops beating

It means that your heart stops beating, usually due to a lack of oxygen or a potassium imbalance in the blood. Most cardiac arrest is due to heart attacks, which prevent the heart from getting oxygen

Cardiac arrest occurs when the heart is not pumping well enough to get blood circulating through the body.

It can be caused by an abnormal heart rhythm, heart attack, buildup of fluid around the heart or severe hypovolemia (not enough blood in the body).

It is when the heart stops beating. the American Heritage Dictionary defines it as the sudden cessation of heartbeat and cardiac function that results in the loss of effective circulation.

More aptly called sudden cardiac death, sudden cardiac arrest is a condition in which the heartbeat stops suddenly and unexpectedly. It is caused by life-threatening arrhythmias, abnormalities in the heart's electrical system. The most common arrhythmia is ventricular fibrillation. In this condition, the heart beats so chaotically that it's unable to pump blood to the body and brain.

The sudden cardiac arrest victim first loses his or her pulse, then consciousness, and finally the ability to breathe. Without immediate treatment, the victim almost always dies.

Sudden cardiac arrest vs. heart attacks
A sudden cardiac arrest is not the same thing as a heart attack, although a person suffering a heart attack is more likely to develop abnormal heart rhythms and sudden cardiac arrest. Here's how they're different:

A heart attack is caused by blocked blood flow to the heart muscle so the muscle begins to die. Sudden cardiac arrest is caused by an abnormal heart rhythm.
A heart attack is often preceded by chest, arm, upper abdomen, or jaw pain.Nausea and sweating are common. There is rarely a warning before sudden cardiac arrest.
Heart attack patients usually remain conscious. Sudden cardiac arrest victims always lose consciousness.
The prevalence of sudden cardiac arrest


One of the leading causes of death among American adults, sudden cardiac arrest kills approximately 350,000 people a year, or approximately 1,000 people per day. Two out of every three deaths happen outside of the hospital.

Who's at risk and where:

Sudden cardiac arrest is unpredictable and can happen to anyone, anywhere-evento a child. Risk increases with age.
Although pre-existing heart disease is a common cause of cardiac arrest, many victims have never had any heart problems.
Early defibrillation is the key to survival
The only effective way to treat cardiac arrest is with a defibrillator, a medical device that delivers an electrical current, or shock, through the chest to the heart. This shock-or countershock as it is sometimes called-interrupts the random electrical pulses of ventricular fibrillation and gives the heart a chance to start beating again in a normal rhythm. The process is called defibrillation.

If you've watched ER, or any other TV hospital show, you've probably seen a doctor or nurse successfully shocking a cardiac arrest victim back to life with a defibrillator. Unfortunately, in the real world, 95 percent of cardiac arrest victims die because they either don't have access to defibrillation, or if they do, it's delayed by 10 minutes or more.

That's why the American Heart Association advocates for the widespread public use of AEDs. Early defibrillation could save up to 100,000 lives per year in America.

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cardiac arrest is when all electrical activity in the heart ceases.
A monitor shows a straight line.