Cardiac Arrest
A cardiac arrest is when your heart suddenly stops pumping blood around your body. When your heart stops pumping blood, your brain is starved of oxygen, causing you to fall unconscious and stop breathing. A cardiac arrest usually happens without warning; if someone is in cardiac arrest, they will collapse suddenly, will be unconscious, unresponsive and will not be breathing normally – they may make gasping noises. Without immediate treatment or medical attention, a person in cardiac arrest will die.
FAQs
A common cause of a cardiac arrest is a life-threatening abnormal heart rhythm called ventricular fibrillation (VF). VF happens when the electrical activity of the heart becomes so chaotic that the heart stops pumping efficiently and quivers or ‘fibrillates’ instead.
The main causes of cardiac arrest related to the heart are:
• Heart attacks (caused by coronary heart disease)
• Cardiomyopathy
• Congenital heart disease
• Heart valve disease
• Acute myocarditis (which is an inflammation of the heart muscle)
Other causes of cardiac arrest include:
• Electrocution
• Drug overdose
• Severe blood loss (haemorrhage)
• Hypoxia
Aside from the immediate signs mentioned above, other signs and symptoms that can occur before cardiac arrest include:
• Chest discomfort
• Shortness of breath
• Weakness
• Heart palpitations
• Unexplained wheezing
Light-headedness or dizziness
If you or anyone you are with experiences any of these signs or symptoms, call 999 or seek emergency medical help immediately.
A cardiac arrest is a medical emergency which is often fatal if not treated quickly with a combination of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and defibrillation. If your heart stops beating due to SDS, the same measures should be taken as above.
Starting immediate CPR is vital as it keeps blood and oxygen circulating to the brain and around the body until an effective heartbeat and breathing can be restored. A defibrillator will then deliver a controlled electric shock to try and get the heart beating normally again. Public access defibrillators are often in locations like train stations and shopping centres – anyone can use one and you do not need training to do so.