Cardiac arrest is the failure of the heart to effectively pump blood throughout the body due to problems with the electrical signals that control heart rhythm or other causes. It can be classified as either shockable or non-shockable based on the heart rhythm. Causes include coronary heart disease, cardiomyopathy, arrhythmias, and non-cardiac factors like bleeding or overdose. Treatment involves cardiopulmonary resuscitation, defibrillation for shockable rhythms, medications, therapeutic hypothermia, and other advanced techniques to restore circulation.

1. CARDIAC ARREST
P R E PA R E D B Y:
S H A R M I N S U S IWA L A

2. INTRODUCTION
• Cardiac arrest, also known as cardiopulmonary arrest
or circulatory arrest, is the end of normal circulation of
the blood due to failure of the heart to contract
effectively.
• Also referred as a sudden cardiac arrest (SCA).
• Cardiac arrest is a medical emergency that, in certain
situations, is potentially reversible if treated early.
• Unexpected cardiac arrest sometimes leads to death
almost immediately; this is called sudden cardiac death
(SCD).

3. CLASSIFICATION
Based upon the ECG rhythm
1. SHOCKABLE
The two shockable rhythms are ventricular fibrillation and
pulseless ventricular tachycardia
2. NON-SHOCKABLE
The two non–shockable rhythms are asystole and
pulseless electrical activity
• This refers to whether a particular class of cardiac
dysrhythmia is treatable using defibrillation

4. CAUSES
• Coronary heart disease
• Non-ischemic heart disease
Cardiomyopathy
Cardiac rhythm disturbances
Hypertensive heart disease
Congestive heart failure.
Coronary artery abnormalities
Myocarditis
Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy
Long QT syndrome

5. • Non-cardiac
• The most common non-cardiac causes:
Trauma
non-trauma related bleeding (such as gastrointestinal
bleeding, aortic rupture, andintracranial hemorrhage)
Overdose
Drowning
pulmonary embolism

6. Hs
• Hypovolemia - A lack of blood volume
• Hypoxia - A lack of oxygen
• Hydrogen ions (Acidosis) - An abnormal pH in the body
• Hyperkalemia or Hypokalemia - Both excess and inadequate
potassium can be life-threatening.
• Hypothermia - A low core body temperature
• Hypoglycemia or Hyperglycemia
Ts
• Tablets or Toxins
• Cardiac Tamponade - Fluid building around the heart
• Tension pneumothorax - A collapsed lung
• Thrombosis (Myocardial infarction) - Heart attack
• Thromboembolism (Pulmonary embolism) - A blood clot in the
lung
• Traumatic cardiac arrest

7. RISK FACTORS
• The risk factors for SCD are similar to those seen with
coronary heart disease including:
Smoking
Lack of physical exercise
Obesity
Diabetes
Family history

8. SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS
• Cardiac arrest is synonymous with clinical death.
• Absence of palpable pulse.
• Lack of conciousness.
• Abnormal or absent breathing.
• Death.
• “silent chest”

9. DIAGNOSIS
• The main diagnostic criterion to diagnose a cardiac arrest is
lack of circulation.
1. Lack of carotid pulse is the gold standard for diagnosing
cardiac arrest.
2. Various other methods for detecting circulation have been
proposed.
Look for "signs of circulation“
These signs include:
Coughing
Gasping
Colour
Twitching
Movement

10. MANAGEMENT
1. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation:
CPR is a critical part of the management of cardiac
arrest.
It should be started as soon as possible and interrupted
as little as possible.
The component of CPR which seems to make the
greatest difference is the chest compressions.
Tracheal intubation has not been found to improve
survival rates in cardiac arrest cases.

11. 2. Defibrillation:
Shockable and non–shockable causes of cardiac arrest is
based on the presence or absence of ventricular fibrillation or
pulseless ventricular tachycardia.
The shockable rhythms are treated with CPR and
defibrillation.
This involves placing automated external defibrillators in
public places, and training staff in these areas how to use
them.
This allows defibrillation to take place prior to the arrival of
emergency services, and has been shown to lead to
increased chances of survival.
Some defibrillators even provide feedback on the quality of
CPR compressions, encouraging the lay rescuer to press the
patient's chest hard enough to circulate blood.

12. 3. Medications:
Epinephrie
Atropine
Amiodarone
Vasopressin
4. Therapeutic hypothermia:
• Cooling a person after cardiac arrest with return of
spontaneous circulation (ROSC) but without return of
consciousness improves outcomes.
• This procedure is called therapeutic hypothermia.
• People are cooled over a 24 hour period, with a target
temperature of 32–34 °C (90–93 °F).
• Death rates in the hypothermia group were 35% lower.

13. 5. Others:
• Precordial thump may be considered in those with
witnessed, monitored, unstable ventricular tachycardia
(including pulseless VT)
• Resuscitation with extracorporeal membrane
oxygenation devices.
• Open cardiac massage.