What is prolonged cardiac arrest?

I was reading the sports pages and this guy collapsed on the field and later died of multiple organ failure stemming from prolonged cardiac arrest. Can someone break it down in layman terms please? Thanks

A cardiac arrest occurs when the heart stops. When this occurs, no blood gets pumped throughout the body, and this starves it of vital food and oxygen. Cells begin to die after some time.

Now, different parts of our body are either more or less susceptible to the effects of this lack of oxygen/food. For example, the muscles in your arms/legs are much more resistant to this starvation, than say your brain. In fact your brain is the most sensitive to this lack of oxygen! Within 4 minutes of a cardiac arrest without CPR, brain cells start to die. It takes the heart muscle a bit longer to die, say 20-30 minutes.

A prolonged cardiac arrest occurs when the heart stops for long enough to cause organ damage. There is no set time in the definition unfortunately, and really depends on each individual doctor/hospital.

The heart stops but he didn't. Result:death!

The heart may go into rapid, erratic, faint beating (fibrulation) for an extended period of time, thereby robbing the rest of the body of a sufficient blood supply for proper function, hence causing massive organ failure.

Tags

　　Careers 　　Cardiovascular Diseases 　　Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation 　　Cardiomyopathy 　　Cardiac Surgery 　　Cardiac Diseases 　　Cardiac Arrest 　　Carcinoma 　　Carbon Monoxide Poisoning 　　Carbohydrates 　　Cannabis 　　Canker Sore 　　Canes

Related information

Sex after a Cardiac Arrest?

If her doctor said it was fine, try this. You could have a heart attack laying there or you could have a heart attack having fun. Which way would you rather go? Now, the above seems a little...

Pain/Stress-induced Cardiac Arrest?

Mental stress causes the heart to work harder. If she was in a lot of pain of course this was causing a lot of mental stress for her also, and the way she was physically handled did not help the s...

What is cardiac arrest/?

cardiac arrest is a condition in which the heart has stopped beating altogether or is beating so weakly or so irregularly that it cannot maintain proper blood circulation.

...

Full cardiac arrest, unconscious but not dead when found?

Brain death begins 4-6 minutes after the pulse and respirations cease. If they found him and he had obvious signs of being down for an extended period of time no amount of advanced cardiac life sup...

How cardiac arrest attacks on human body all of a sudden?

Several factors may take part when a person suddenly has a heart attack ( Myocardial Infarction). Such people do not get any of the warning signs of a heart attack. Their genetic make-up, weight, u...

Is cardiac arrest painful?

I have witnessed a lot of cardiac arrests as a nurse. The patient usually becomes grey and clammy, not necessarily complaining about chest pain. The heart stops and they collapse. They need intensi...

If you're a young,perfectly healthy person, what is your chances of dying from cardiac arrest?

Not too good mate, you are better off jumping of a building or stepping in-front of a buss. But seriously there is a condition called cardiac concussion where a blow to the chest a just the right ...

What factors can cause a person to have a a) Heart Attack b) Stroke c) Cardiac Arrest?

The Risk Factors involved in all three diseases is given by American Heart Association (AHA) is given below: AHA Scientific Position Extensive clinical and statistical studies have identified...