Cardiac Arrest

📖What is Cardiac Arrest?

Cardiac arrest is the sudden and complete loss of heart function, causing the heart to stop pumping blood effectively to the brain, lungs, and other organs, resulting in immediate loss of consciousness and absence of normal breathing. It is distinct from a heart attack, which involves blocked blood flow to the heart muscle itself, though a heart attack can trigger the abnormal heart rhythms that lead to cardiac arrest. Without immediate intervention through cardiopulmonary resuscitation and defibrillation, cardiac arrest is fatal within minutes, as brain damage begins within four to six minutes of the heart stopping. Survival rates depend heavily on how quickly bystander CPR and defibrillation are started, making public awareness and access to automated external defibrillators critically important.

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