How to Recognize Signs of Cardiac Arrest

The American Heart Association reports that hundreds of thousands of deaths are due to coronary heart disease each year, with a good many of them sudden cardiac arrests. Time is of the essence when recognizing the signs of cardiac arrest, and every second that ticks by determines whether the victim lives or dies. Quick thinking and fast action is needed to give the victim hope of survival and recovery. You could be the person responsible for saving the victim's life.

Instructions

• 1

  Stay calm and do not panic. Look at the patient's chest for the rise and fall of breaths. If the chest is still, the victim has stopped breathing. Oxygen deprivation is imminent.

• 2

  Look for unresponsiveness in the victim, as cardiac arrest usually happens without warning. The heart stops, usually due to ventricular fibrillation. Lack of a heartbeat leads to oxygen deprivation and eventually death if measures are not taken to jump-start the heart. Call 9-1-1 or yell for somebody else to call for an ambulance and immediately start cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) at the rate of 100 compressions per minute.

• 3

  Ask if an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) is available. Some public places have them for a cardiac arrest incident. Attach the AED machine to the victim and follow the instructions until the ambulance arrives.