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Complications
By Mayo Clinic staffWhen sudden cardiac arrest occurs, your brain is the first part of your body to suffer because, unlike other organs, it doesn't have a reserve of oxygen-rich blood. It's completely dependent on an uninterrupted supply of blood. Reduced blood flow to your brain causes unconsciousness.
If your heart rhythm doesn't rapidly return to its normal rhythm, brain damage occurs and death results. If sudden cardiac arrest lasts more than 10 minutes, survival is rare. Survivors of cardiac arrest may show signs of brain damage.
- 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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