What is a cardiac arrest?
Cardiac arrest is a term used to mean that the heart has stopped. It is usually caused by a heart rhythm problem called ventricular fibrillation, where: 1. the heart stops beating effectively; 2. circulation of blood stops, and no pulse can be felt; 3. the victim collapses suddenly, and 4. the victim is unresponsive or unconscious and will die unless he/she receives immediate treatment, usually CPR and early defibrillation. Cardiac arrest is fatal over 95% of the time. That is, fewer than 5 people out of 100 with an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest will survive.
Related Questions
- What if a person is not in the hospital and does not want resuscitative efforts in the event of a cardiac and/or respiratory arrest?
- Does a Living Will mean the person is not to be resuscitated in the event of a cardiac and / or respiratory arrest?
- Did Michael Jacksons hands provide any signals for a sudden cardiac arrest?