Also called: Also called: Sudden cardiac death
The heart has an internal electrical system that controls the rhythm of the heartbeat. Problems can cause abnormal heart rhythms, called arrhythmias. There are many types of arrhythmia. During an arrhythmia, the heart can beat too fast, too slow, or it can stop beating. Sudden cardiac arrest occurs when the heart develops an arrhythmia that causes it to stop beating. This is different than a heart attack, where the heart usually continues to beat but blood flow to the heart is blocked.
There are many possible causes of cardiac arrest. They include coronary heart disease, heart attack, electrocution, drowning, or choking. There may not be a known cause to the cardiac arrest.
Without medical attention, the person will die within a few minutes. People are less likely to die if they have early cardiopulmonary resuscitation ( CPR) and defibrillation. Defibrillation is delivering an electric shock to restore the heart rhythm to normal.
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
- Cardiac Arrest(American Heart Association) - http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4481
- Hands-Only CPR(American Heart Association) - http://handsonlycpr.eisenberginc.com/
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Sudden Cardiac Arrest
(National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute) - http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/scda/scda_whatis.html
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JAMA Patient Page: Cardiac Arrest(American Medical Association) - http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/reprint/295/1/124.pdf
Also available in Spanish http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/data/295/1/124/DC1/1
- Sudden Cardiac Arrest(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/sudden-cardiac-arrest/DS00764/METHOD=print&DSECTION=all
- Sudden Cardiac Arrest Facts(Sudden Cardiac Arrest Association) - Links to PDF - http://suddencardiacarrest.org/content/resources/sudden_cardiac_arrest_fact_sheet.pdf
- Cardiac Arrest Survival Rates Vary Widely(09/23/2008, HealthDay) - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_69630.html
- Stem Cells Ease Stroke-Like Brain Damage in Mice(09/15/2008, HealthDay) - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_69303.html
- Too Few People Know Symptoms of Heart Trouble(09/13/2008, HealthDay) - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_69254.html
- Automated External Defibrillator (AED)(Food and Drug Administration) - http://www.fda.gov/hearthealth/treatments/medicaldevices/aed.html
- Automated External Defibrillators: Do You Need an AED?(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/automated-external-defibrillators/HB00053/METHOD=print
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JAMA Patient Page: Automated External Defibrillators(American Medical Association) - http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/reprint/296/6/724.pdf
Also available in Spanish http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/data/296/6/724/DC1/1
- Links in the Chain of Survival(American Heart Association) - http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=3012016
- New Concepts of Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation for the Lay Public(American Heart Association) - http://circ.ahajournals.org/cgi/content/full/116/25/e566
- Sudden Cardiac Arrest vs. Heart Attack: Same or Different?(Sudden Cardiac Arrest Association) - Links to PDF - http://suddencardiacarrest.org/content/resources/fact_sheet-sca_vs_heart_attack.pdf
- Ventricular Fibrillation(Merck & Co., Inc.) - http://www.merck.com/mmhe/sec03/ch027/ch027h.html
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See My Heart Cardiovascular Media Library
(American Society of Echocardiography) - Requires Flash Player - http://www.medmovie.com/mmdatabase/MediaPlayer.aspx?ClientID=46&TopicID=701,'_blank','toolbar=no,directories=no,status=no,menubar=no,scrollbars=no,resizable=no,width=640,height=480','true'
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How the Heart Works(National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute) - http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/hhw/hhw_whatis.html
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ClinicalTrials.gov: Death, Sudden, Cardiac(National Institutes of Health) - http://clinicaltrials.gov/search/open/condition=%22Death,+Sudden,+Cardiac%22
- AHA Survey Reveals Americans Lack Confidence in Lifesaving Skills for Common Cardiac Emergency(American Heart Association) - http://americanheart.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=43&item=429
- Hands-Only CPR Simplifies Saving Lives for Bystanders(American Heart Association) - http://americanheart.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=43&item=377
- Malfunctioning Kidneys May Raise Risk of Sudden Death in Women(American Heart Association) - http://americanheart.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=43&item=389
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Post-Cardiac Arrest Care Key to Survival(American Heart Association) - http://americanheart.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=43&item=554
References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)
- Article: Association of electrocardiographic morphology of exercise-induced ventricular arrhythmia with mortality. - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18838725&tool=MedlinePlus
- Article: Summaries for patients. Type of exercise-induced arrhythmia on exercise test... - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18838721&tool=MedlinePlus
- Article: American Heart Association/American College of Cardiology Foundation/Heart Rhythm Society scientific... - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18833586&tool=MedlinePlus
- Cardiac Arrest -- see more articles - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=search&db=pubmed&term=heart+arrest[majr]+AND+english[la]+AND+humans[mh]+AND+(jsubsetaim[text]+OR+jsubsetk[text]+OR+clinical+trial[pt]+OR+patient+education+handout[pt]+OR+systematic[sb]+OR+review[pt]+OR+jsubsetn[text])+NOT+(letter[pt]+OR+editorial[pt]+OR+case+reports[pt])&doptcmdl=summary&cmd_current=Limits&pmfilter_EDatLimit=last+1+Year&tool=MedlinePlus
- Cardiac Glossary(American Heart Association) - http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=3038158
- Sudden Cardiac Arrest Glossary(Sudden Cardiac Arrest Association) - Links to PDF - http://suddencardiacarrest.org/content/resources/scaa_glossary.pdf
- American Heart Association - http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=1200000
- Heart Rhythm Society - http://www.hrspatients.org/
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National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute - http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/
- Sudden Arrhythmia Death Syndromes (SADS) Foundation - http://www.sads.org/
- Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) Statistics(American Heart Association) - http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4483
- CPR/AED Fact Sheet(American Heart Association) - http://americanheart.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=43&item=445
- Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest — Statistics(American Heart Association) - Links to PDF - http://www.americanheart.org/downloadable/heart/1168639579314OUTOFHOSP07.pdf
- Facts about Sudden Cardiac Death in the Young(Sudden Arrhythmia Death Syndromes (SADS) Foundation) - Links to PDF - http://www.sads.org/images/stories/pdf/SCD_Facts-w-risk.pdf
- Arrhythmia - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/arrhythmia.html
- CPR - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/cpr.html
- Pacemakers and Implantable Defibrillators - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/pacemakersandimplantabledefibrillators.html
- Blood, Heart and Circulation - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/bloodheartandcirculation.html
The primary NIH organization for research on Cardiac Arrest is the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute - http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/