ICD-10: I46Circulatory System DiseasesGeneral Severity
Cardiac arrest
Cardiac arrest is when your heart suddenly stops beating, cutting off blood flow to your brain and body.
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Find CardiologistsClinical Overview
Your heart is a pump that uses electrical signals to keep blood moving through your body. When you have a cardiac arrest, those electrical signals malfunction and your heart stops pumping blood completely.
This is an immediate, life-threatening emergency. Because the blood stops reaching the brain, a person loses consciousness almost instantly and stops breathing normally. It is a problem with the heart's electrical system rather than a blockage of blood flow like a heart attack.
Common Symptoms
- Sudden collapse
- Loss of consciousness, or "blacking out"
- No pulse
- Stopping or gasping for breath
Causes & Risk Factors
Underlying Causes
- Ventricular fibrillation, which is an erratic, disorganized heartbeat