Cardiac arrest

How it is used

A key term in emergency work. A person goes into or suffers a cardiac arrest; staff say 'he's arrested' or 'she's in arrest'. Reports separate out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) from in-hospital cardiac arrest (IHCA), and witnessed from unwitnessed arrests.

Example sentences

1. The patient went into cardiac arrest in the back of the ambulance.

2. Survival after cardiac arrest depends on how quickly CPR starts.

Common collocations

• go into cardiac arrest
• witnessed cardiac arrest
• out-of-hospital cardiac arrest
• survive a cardiac arrest

Related terms

• heart attackDamage to part of the heart muscle when its blood supply is suddenly blocked, usually by a clot in a coronary artery; typical signs are chest pain and breathlessness.
• CPRShort for cardiopulmonary resuscitation: chest compressions, often with rescue breaths, given to someone whose heart has stopped, to keep blood and oxygen moving to the brain.
• AEDShort for automated external defibrillator: a portable device that checks the heart rhythm through pads on the chest and gives an electric shock if one is needed.
• ROSCShort for return of spontaneous circulation: the point during resuscitation when the heart starts beating effectively again and a pulse can be felt.
• chain of survivalA series of linked steps that give a person in cardiac arrest the best chance of living: early call for help, early CPR, early defibrillation and good care afterwards.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

• cardiac arrest · Medicine

More terms: CPR and Resuscitation

• chest compressions
• rescue breaths
• defibrillator
• resuscitation
• agonal breathing
• bag-valve-mask