Cardiac arrest is the abrupt loss of heart function in a person who may or may not have been diagnosed with heart disease. It can come on suddenly or in the wake of other symptoms. Cardiac arrest is often fatal if appropriate steps aren’t taken immediately.
American Heart Association
Background
Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) occurs in over 350,000 Americans annually.1–2 Despite 40 years of intensive research into best resuscitation practices and extraordinary efforts to train the public in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) methods, survival to hospital discharge has remained fixed at 8-10%.3–4 While these grim statistics suggest that interventions for OHCAs are largely ineffective, OHCA is actually quite responsive to medical intervention – but only if interventions are applied within the first few critical minutes of OHCA onset. Calling 911 and immediately treating with cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and defibrillation can save the life of a person in cardiac arrest.5
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