Cardiac arrest occurs when your heart prevents circulating blood around the body. The most common cause of a cardiac arrest is a debilitating abnormal heart rhythm called ventricular fibrillation.

2. 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 (SCA)
occurs when the heart develops an arrhythmia that
causes it to stop beating.

3. The Symptoms of Cardiac Arrest are:
 Sudden collapse
 No pulse
 No breathing
 Loss of consciousness

4. Cardiopulmonary
resuscitation and advanced
cardiac life support are not
always in a person's best
interest. This is particularly
true in the case of terminal
illnesses when resuscitation
will not alter the outcome of
the disease. Properly
performed CPR often
fractures the rib cage,
especially in older patients or
those suffering from
osteoporosis.

5. The out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) has a
worse survival rate (2-8% at discharge and 8-22% on
admission), than an in-hospital cardiac arrest (15%
at discharge). The principal determining factor is the
initially documented rhythm. Patients with VF/VT
have 10-15 times more chance of surviving than
those suffering from pulseless electrical activity or
asystole (as they are sensitive to defibrillation,
whereas asystole and PEA are not).

6. Several organisations promote the idea of a "chain of
survival", of which defibrillation is a key step.
Early recognition - If possible, recognition of illness
before the patient develops a cardiac arrest will
allow the rescuer to prevent its occurrence. Early
recognition that a cardiac arrest has occurred is key
to survival - for every minute a patient is in cardiac
arrest, their chances of survival drop by roughly
10%.