Cardiac arrest
Cardiac arrest
Overview
Cardiac arrest is when the heart suddenly stops pumping blood around the body. This will cause a person to lose consciousness. Their breathing will be affected too. They will either stop breathing completely or stop breathing normally. This usually happens without warning.
Common Symptoms
Symptom information is not available for this condition yet.
Emergency Warning Signs
Phone 999 if:
Someone:
- loses consciousness and won’t respond to you
- collapses and has a low or undetectable heart beat
- stops breathing
- isn’t breathing normally – they may have slow breaths and gasp for air, or have short periods where they look like they’re having a fit
The call handler will talk you through cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) if it’s needed.
How to give CPR
CPR, or chest compressions, help to pump blood around the body when the heart can’t.
To do CPR on an adult, you must:
- Put your hands in the centre of their chest and interlock your fingers.
- Push hard and fast with your arms straight.
- Continue until help arrives.
You can use Lifesaver to learn more about how to do CPR and what to do in an emergency. This is an interactive game by the Resuscitation Council.
Learn how to give CPR
Save a Life for Scotland have more advice on how to give an adult CPR.
Resuscitation Council UK have advice on how to give CPR to a baby (0 to 12 months) or child (1 to 18 years).
Support if you’ve seen or provided CPR
If you’ve performed CPR on someone, or you’ve seen someone getting CPR, you may find yourself struggling to process what’s happened.
Chest, Heart and Stroke Scotland (CHSS) have an Advice Line with trained healthcare professionals who will listen to you. They’ll help you make sense of your experience and provide advice and support.
If you’d like to speak to someone, phone the Advice Line on 0808 801 0899 or email adviceline@chss.org.uk
You can also text Advice to 66777.
Further information on the CHSS Advice Line
Hospital care
After a cardiac arrest, you’ll be monitored closely in hospital. You may need to be admitted to an intensive care unit or a heart unit during this time.
Healthcare professionals will investigate the cause of your cardiac arrest. They’ll also recommend treatments to help you recover and help prevent it from happening again.
After your cardiac arrest
Your healthcare team will give you advice about preventing another cardiac arrest. You may need to take certain medications or get treatment for conditions that can cause a cardiac arrest, like heart disease.
Sometimes you may need to have an implantable cardiac device (ICD) fitted. This is a small device that’s placed under the skin in your chest to track your heart rhythm. If the ICD notices an abnormal rhythm, it can give electrical pulses to help your heart beat normally.
You can get further information on ICDs from the British Heart Foundation.
Keeping active and following a healthy diet are good for heart health. Your healthcare team will tell you when it’s safe to start exercising again. They’ll also explain if you need to make any changes to your diet.
Find out more about recovering from a cardiac arrest
Who’s most at risk of a cardiac arrest?
Cardiac arrest can happen to anyone, from young children to older adults.
If you have underlying heart disease, you may have a higher risk of cardiac arrest.
⚠️ This symptom list is for educational purposes. Having these symptoms does not mean you have this condition. See a doctor for proper diagnosis.
Medicines Commonly Used
⚠️ These medicines are commonly used for confirmed diagnoses of this condition. This is NOT a recommendation or prescription. Treatment must be determined by your doctor.
No medicines have been linked to this condition yet.
When to See a Doctor
Phone 999 if:
Someone:
- loses consciousness and won’t respond to you
- collapses and has a low or undetectable heart beat
- stops breathing
- isn’t breathing normally – they may have slow breaths and gasp for air, or have short periods where they look like they’re having a fit
The call handler will talk you through cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) if it’s needed.
How to give CPR
CPR, or chest compressions, help to pump blood around the body when the heart can’t.
To do CPR on an adult, you must:
- Put your hands in the centre of their chest and interlock your fingers.
- Push hard and fast with your arms straight.
- Continue until help arrives.
You can use Lifesaver to learn more about how to do CPR and what to do in an emergency. This is an interactive game by the Resuscitation Council.
Learn how to give CPR
Save a Life for Scotland have more advice on how to give an adult CPR.
Resuscitation Council UK have advice on how to give CPR to a baby (0 to 12 months) or child (1 to 18 years).
Support if you’ve seen or provided CPR
If you’ve performed CPR on someone, or you’ve seen someone getting CPR, you may find yourself struggling to process what’s happened.
Chest, Heart and Stroke Scotland (CHSS) have an Advice Line with trained healthcare professionals who will listen to you. They’ll help you make sense of your experience and provide advice and support.
If you’d like to speak to someone, phone the Advice Line on 0808 801 0899 or email adviceline@chss.org.uk
You can also text Advice to 66777.
Further information on the CHSS Advice Line
Hospital care
After a cardiac arrest, you’ll be monitored closely in hospital. You may need to be admitted to an intensive care unit or a heart unit during this time.
Healthcare professionals will investigate the cause of your cardiac arrest. They’ll also recommend treatments to help you recover and help prevent it from happening again.
After your cardiac arrest
Your healthcare team will give you advice about preventing another cardiac arrest. You may need to take certain medications or get treatment for conditions that can cause a cardiac arrest, like heart disease.
Sometimes you may need to have an implantable cardiac device (ICD) fitted. This is a small device that’s placed under the skin in your chest to track your heart rhythm. If the ICD notices an abnormal rhythm, it can give electrical pulses to help your heart beat normally.
You can get further information on ICDs from the British Heart Foundation.
Keeping active and following a healthy diet are good for heart health. Your healthcare team will tell you when it’s safe to start exercising again. They’ll also explain if you need to make any changes to your diet.
Find out more about recovering from a cardiac arrest
Who’s most at risk of a cardiac arrest?
Cardiac arrest can happen to anyone, from young children to older adults.
If you have underlying heart disease, you may have a higher risk of cardiac arrest.
Causes
What causes cardiac arrest?
Cardiac arrest happens when the heart suddenly stops pumping blood to the rest of the body. It is often linked to an underlying heart problem, such as a heart attack, heart failure, an abnormal heart rhythm (arrhythmia), or a heart condition someone is born with.
That said, a heart problem is not always to blame. Cardiac arrest can also be brought on by drowning, choking, a severe allergic reaction (anaphylaxis), electric shock, or sepsis.
In many cases, doctors cannot find a clear reason why it happened. This is called an idiopathic cause.