Cardiac arrest
hideA cardiac arrest, also known as cardiopulmonary arrest or circulatory arrest, is the abrupt cessation of normal circulation of the blood due to failure of the heart to contract effectively during systole.
A cardiac arrest is different from (but may be caused by) a heart attack or myocardial infarction, where blood flow to the still-beating heart is interrupted (as in cardiogenic shock).
"Arrested" blood circulation prevents delivery of oxygen to all parts of the body. Cerebral hypoxia, or lack of oxygen supply to the brain, causes victims to lose consciousness and to stop normal breathing, although agonal breathing may still occur. Brain injury is likely if cardiac arrest is untreated for more than five minutes, although new treatments such as induced hypothermia have begun to extend this time. To improve survival and neurological recovery immediate response is paramount.
Cardiac arrest is a medical emergency that, in certain groups of patients, is potentially reversible if treated early enough (See "reversible causes" below). When unexpected cardiac arrest leads to death this is called sudden cardiac death (SCD). The primary first-aid treatment for cardiac arrest is cardiopulmonary resuscitation (commonly known as CPR) which provides circulatory support until availability of definitive medical treatment, which will vary dependent on the rhythm the heart is exhibiting, but often requires defibrillation.
For more information about Cardiac arrest, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
News tagged with cardiac arrest
Dispatcher-assisted bystander CPR best choice for possible cardiac arrest signs
Dec 22, 2009 |
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Dispatchers should assertively give cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) instructions to bystanders who suspect someone is in cardiac arrest because the benefits from correctly recommending CPR for someone who needs it greatly ...
Chances of surviving cardiac arrest at home or work unchanged in 30 years
Dec 02, 2009 |
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The chance of surviving an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest has not improved since the 1950s, according to a report by the University of Michigan Health System.
Cooling may benefit children after cardiac arrest
Dec 03, 2009 |
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When the heart is stopped and restarted, the patient's life may be saved but their brain is often permanently damaged. Therapeutic hypothermia, a treatment in which the patient's body temperature is lowered and maintained ...
CPR is successful without mouth-to-mouth, but not without oxygen
Nov 30, 2009 |
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People can survive cardiac arrest if they receive only chest compressions during attempts to revive them - as advised by the current American Heart Association guidelines. But they cannot survive without access to oxygen ...
Search results for cardiac arrest
San Jose police mount cameras on officers' heads
Dec 29, 2009 |
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(AP) -- Grainy cell phone images are often used against cops accused of using excessive violence. Now, officers are being armed with their own cameras.
Tarantula venom-based MD therapy to be advanced by UB scientists' biotech company
Dec 29, 2009 |
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University at Buffalo biophysicists have found a protein in tarantula venom that shows promise as a potential therapy for muscular dystrophy (MD). They have formed a start-up biotech company in Buffalo -- Rose Pharmaceuticals ...
Anemia drug not helpful for kidney disease patients
Dec 22, 2009 |
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An international study authored by a UT Southwestern Medical Center researcher has concluded that the anemia drug darbepoetin alfa works no better than a placebo in several other applications previously thought to be promising.
Study: Sticking with heart rehab boosts survival
Dec 21, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Medicare beneficiaries with heart disease who attended more cardiac rehabilitation sessions had fewer heart attacks and were less likely to die within four years than those who went to rehab less, researchers ...
Medical simulators can breathe, bleed, give birth -- and help students hone skills
Dec 21, 2009 |
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It was a high-stress situation for three nurses who had never delivered babies: A woman was 32 weeks pregnant, in pain and having contractions.
Disparity in use of implantable devices to prevent sudden death in heart failure patients
Dec 18, 2009 |
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A study of heart failure patients who meet national guidelines for devices that stabilize and strengthen the heart's electrical system found that only half of eligible patients received the devices. The study, which is the ...
Heart drugs show promise for fighting colon cancer
Dec 16, 2009 |
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Scientists in Sweden are reporting for the first time that a group of drugs used to treat heart failure shows promise for fighting colon cancer. The study is in ACS' Journal of Natural Products. Colon cancer ...
Marking of tissue-specific crucial in embryonic stem cells to ensure proper function
Dec 16, 2009 |
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Tissue-specific genes, thought to be dormant or not marked for activation in embryonic stem cells, are indeed marked by transcription factors, with proper marking potentially crucial for the function of tissues derived from ...
Heart cells on lab chip display 'nanosense' that guides behavior
Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine
Dec 15, 2009 |
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Johns Hopkins biomedical engineers, working with colleagues in Korea, have produced a laboratory chip with nanoscopic grooves and ridges capable of growing cardiac tissue that more closely resembles natural ...
Low cholesterol transfer protein activity associated with heart disease risk
Dec 15, 2009 |
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Although seen as a potential heart disease therapy, raising high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol levels by inhibiting activity of a transfer protein may not be effective, a new study suggests. Scientists at the Jean ...
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