A comparison of in-hospital cardiac arrests between a United States and United Kingdom hospital

Cardiac arrest may be attributed to heart rhythm disturbances, drugs, poisoning, pre-existing heart disease, traumatic injury, coagulopathies, respiratory arrest, and anaphylaxis, amidst others [1]. Within 4 –5 min of circulation cessation, neurons in the brain and myocytes within the heart begin dying, resulting in brain damage and eventually, death [2,3]. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), if administered within the first minutes of cardiac or respiratory arrest, can be a life-saving technique a llowing for continued circulation of oxygenated blood to vital organs [4,5].
Source: The American Journal of Emergency Medicine - Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Source Type: research