Cardiac arrest
Cardiac arrest happens when the heart suddenly stops beating. This can be caused by a heart attack in which the heart's demand for oxygen is not met and the heart muscle begins to die. With cardiac arrest, normal circulation of blood stops, because of a failure of the heart to contract. This results in the body not getting enough oxygenated blood, which causes cells to start to die from oxygen starvation. Cerebral hypoxia (lack of oxygen to the brain) makes a person lose consciousness and stop breathing, and this makes the heart stop completely. Unless the person is in hypothermia, brain damage usually occurs after three to five minutes. (In some cases, the person is put into hypothermia on purpose, to help the person recover better with less damage.)
| Cardiac arrest | |
|---|---|
| Classification and external resources | |
 CPR being given during a simulation of cardiac arrest. | |
| ICD-10 | I46. |
| ICD-9 | 427.5 |
| DiseasesDB | 2095 |
| MeSH | D006323 |
Cardiac arrest is a medical emergency. If it is treated early enough, some damage done can be reversed in certain groups of patients. When cardiac arrest leads to a person's death, this is called sudden cardiac death (SCD). First aid treatment for cardiac arrest usually begins with cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) to keep oxygenated blood flowing until medical treatment is available.
Cardiac Arrest Media
Conduction of the heart. Changes in this pattern can result from injury to the cardiac muscle and lead to non-conducted beats and ultimately cardiac arrest.
EKG depiction of ventricular fibrillation (no organized rhythm)
Normal vs blocked coronary artery
Short axis view of the heart demonstrating wall thickening in left ventricular hypertrophy
EKG depiction of left ventricular hypertrophy
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Ventricular fibrillation
Medical personnel checking the carotid pulse of a simulated patient
Illustration of an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD)
CPR training on a mannequin
An automated external defibrillator stored in a visible orange mural support
