(heart arrest) Cessation of heart beat or MYOCARDIAL CONTRACTION. If it is treated within a few minutes, heart arrest can be reversed in most cases to normal cardiac rhythm and effective circulation.

An abrupt loss of heart function.

Cessation of cardiac function.

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. This is different than a heart attack, where the heart usually continues to beat but blood flow to the heart is blocked. There are many possible causes of SCA. They include coronary heart disease, physical stress, and some inherited disorders. Sometimes there is no known cause for the SCA. Without medical attention, the person will die within a few minutes. People are less likely to die if they have early defibrillation. Defibrillation sends an electric shock to restore the heart rhythm to normal. You should give cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) to a person having SCA until defibrillation can be done. If you have had an SCA, an implantable cardiac defibrillator (ICD) reduces the chance of dying from a second SCA. NIH: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

The sudden cessation of cardiac activity in an individual who becomes unresponsive, without normal breathing and no signs of circulation. Cardiac arrest may be reversed by CPR, and/or defibrillation, cardioversion or cardiac pacing.

The sudden cessation of contractions capable of circulating blood to the body and brain. Also called sudden cardiac arrest. Cardiac arrest usually occurs as a result of a rapid ventricular rhythm (ventricular tachycardia) or a chaotic one (ventricular fibrillation). Death occurs within minutes unless cardiopulmonary resuscitation and defibrillation are available.

The sudden cessation of productive cardiac activity in an individual who becomes unresponsive, without normal breathing and no signs of circulation.

A disorder characterized by cessation of the pumping function of the heart.

Cardiac arrest is the cessation of cardiac mechanical activity resulting in the absence of circulating blood flow. Cardiac arrest stops blood from flowing to vital organs, depriving them of oxygen, and, if left untreated, results in death. Sudden cardiac arrest is the unexpected cessation of circulation within a short period of symptom...

Asystole is cardiac standstill with no cardiac output and no ventricular depolarization, as shown in the image below; it eventually occurs in all dying patients.Pulseless electrical activity (PEA) is the term applied to a heterogeneous group of dysrhythmias unaccompanied by a detectable pulse.

This monograph covers cardiac arrest in adults. Sudden cardiac arrest is a sudden state of circulatory failure due to a loss of cardiac systolic function. It is the result of 4 specific cardiac rhythm disturbances: ventricular fibrillation (VF), pulseless ventricular tachycardia (VT), pulseless electrical activity, and asystole. Torsades...