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Definition
By Mayo Clinic staffSudden cardiac arrest is the sudden, unexpected loss of heart function, breathing and consciousness. Sudden cardiac arrest usually results from an electrical disturbance in your heart that disrupts its pumping action, stopping blood flow to the rest of your body.
Sudden cardiac arrest is different from a heart attack, which occurs when blood flow to a portion of the heart is blocked. However, a heart attack can sometimes trigger an electrical disturbance that leads to sudden cardiac arrest.
Sudden cardiac arrest is a medical emergency. If not treated immediately, it causes sudden cardiac death. With fast, appropriate medical care, survival is possible. Administering cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) — or even just rapid compressions to the chest — can improve the chances of survival until emergency personnel arrive.
- Siscovick DS, et al. Overview of sudden cardiac arrest and sudden cardiac death. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed April 26, 2010.
- What is sudden cardiac arrest? National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/scda/scda_all.html. Accessed April 26, 2010.
- 2005 American Heart Association guidelines for cardiopulmonary resuscitation and emergency cardiovascular care. Circulation. 2005;112(Suppl):IV-12.
- Myerburg RJ, et al. Cardiovascular collapse, cardiac arrest, and sudden cardiac death. In: Fauci AS, et al. Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine. 17th ed. New York, N.Y.: McGraw Hill; 2007. http://www.accessmedicine.com/content.aspx?aID=2869694. Accessed April 27, 2010.
- Sudden cardiac death. American Heart Association. http://www.americanheart.org/print_presenter.jhtml?identifier=4741. Accessed April 26, 2010.
- Ejection fraction and heart failure. American Heart Association. http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=3065321. Accessed April 27, 2010.
- Sayre MR, et al. Hands-only (compression-only) cardiopulmonary resuscitation: A call to action for bystander response to adults who experience out-of-hospital sudden cardiac arrest. Circulation. 2008;117:2162.
- Prevention and treatment. Heart Rhythm Society. http://www.hrsonline.org/PatientInfo/HeartRhythmDisorders/SCA/Prevention/index.cfm. Accessed April 27, 2010.
- Bollmann A, et al. Antiarrhythmic drugs in patients with implantable cardioverter-defibrillators. American Journal of Cardiovascular Drugs. 2005;5:371.
- Grogan M (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. May 7, 2010.
- Field JM, et al. Part 1: Executive summary — 2010 American Heart Association guidelines for cardiopulmonary resuscitation and emergency cardiovascular care. Circulation. 2010;122(suppl):S640.
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