The heart pumps blood to all of the body's organs. If the heart stops functioning (cardiac arrest), blood flow ceases, organs begin to shut down, and within a few minutes the person will die. If cardiac arrest can be detected and treated immediately, serious organ damage, brain damage, or death may be prevented. Cardiac arrest can occur in adults and children. It may happen suddenly in a person who was thought to be healthy. Community-based programs emphasizing activation of emergency medical services (calling 911 in most areas of North America), cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), and rapid defibrillation (correcting an abnormal heart rhythm with an electrical shock from a defibrillator) have raised public awareness about cardiac arrest and its treatment. However, cardiac arrest remains a major cause of death in all parts of the world. The January 4, 2006, issue of JAMA includes an article about the outcome of cardiac arrest in children and in adults.
Myocardial infarction (heart attack)
Some kinds of arrhythmias (abnormal heart rhythms)
Severe blood loss from traumatic injury or internal bleeding
Electrical shock injury
Lack of oxygen supply from events like choking, drowning, or a severe asthma attack
Cardiogenic shock (heart failure because of inadequate heart pumping function)
Stroke (sudden loss of blood supply in the brain)
Heart valve or heart muscle disease
Certain genetic disorders that affect the heart
When cardiac arrest occurs, the individual becomes unresponsive and unconscious. There is no pulse, no blood pressure, and no breathing. If an electrocardiogram is done, there is either no electrical activity from the heart or a heart rhythm (such as ventricular fibrillation) that does not produce effective heart function.
CALL 911 OR YOUR LOCAL EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICE NUMBER
Rapid defibrillation using an automated external defibrillator (AED), found in many large public places and in commercial airplanes
CPR and rapid transfer to the appropriate medical facility
Treatment of specific problems like heart attack, stroke, or trauma by specialized medical teams
Grahic Jump Location
See your doctor regularly and follow treatment plans for chronic medical conditions like high blood pressure, heart disease, and diabetes.
Do not smoke.
Maintain a healthy weight.
Exercise regularly.
Eat a balanced diet low in saturated fat and high in nutrient-rich fruits and vegetables. Some evidence suggests that eating seafood regularly can reduce the risk of sudden cardiac death.
Talk with your doctor about an implanted defibrillator if you have severe heart disease.
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institutehttp://www.nhlbi.nih.gov
American Heart Associationhttp://www.americanheart.org
Centers for Disease Control and Preventionhttp://www.cdc.gov
To find this and previous JAMA Patient Pages, go to the Patient Page Index on JAMA's Web site at http://www.jama.com. Many are available in English and Spanish. A Patient Page on cardiopulmonary resuscitation was published in the January 19, 2005, issue; and one on electrocardiograms was published in the April 23/30, 2003, issue.
Sources: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; American Heart Association
The JAMA Patient Page is a public service of JAMA. The information and recommendations appearing on this page are appropriate in most instances, but they are not a substitute for medical diagnosis. For specific information concerning your personal medical condition, JAMA suggests that you consult your physician. This page may be photocopied noncommercially by physicians and other health care professionals to share with patients. To purchase bulk reprints, call 718/946-7424.
TOPIC: HEART DISEASE
Country-Specific Mortality and Growth Failure in Infancy and Yound Children and Association With Material Stature
Use interactive graphics and maps to view and sort country-specific infant and early dhildhood mortality and growth failure data and their association with maternal
Instructions
Comments are moderated and will appear on the site at the discretion of the Journal of American Medical Association editors. Comments should not exceed 500 words of text and 10 references.
Do not submit personal medical questions or information that could identify a specific patient, questions about a particular case, or general inquiries to an author. Only content that has not been published, posted, or submitted elsewhere should be submitted. By submitting this Comment, you and any coauthors transfer copyright to the journal if your Comment is posted.
* = Required Field
Disclosure of Any Conflicts of Interest* Indicate all relevant conflicts of interest of each author below, including all relevant financial interests, activities, and relationships within the past 3 years including, but not limited to, employment, affiliation, grants or funding, consultancies, honoraria or payment, speakers’ bureaus, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, royalties, donation of medical equipment, or patents planned, pending, or issued. If all authors have none, check "No potential conflicts or relevant financial interests" in the box below. Please also indicate any funding received in support of this work. The information will be posted with your response.
Register and get free email Table of Contents alerts, saved searches, PowerPoint downloads, CME quizzes, and more
Subscribe for full-text access to content from 1998 forward and a host of useful features
Activate your current subscription (AMA members and current subscribers)
Some tools below are only available to our subscribers or users with an online account.
Download citation file:
Customize your page view by dragging & repositioning the boxes below.
Users' Guides to the Medical Literature Clinical Resolution
Users' Guides to the Medical Literature Clinical Scenario
All results at JAMAevidence.com >
and access these and other features:
Register Now
Enter your username and email address. We'll send you a reminder to the email address on record.
Athens and Shibboleth are access management services that provide single sign-on to protected resources. They replace the multiple user names and passwords necessary to access subscription-based content with a single user name and password that can be entered once per session. It operates independently of a user's location or IP address. If your institution uses Athens or Shibboleth authentication, please contact your site administrator to receive your user name and password.