Cardiac Diseases See Heart Diseases Treatment 

The vast majority  of people whose  heart stops beating unexpectedly have ventricular fibrillation.  The definitive treatment  for this  is defibrillation using electricity to shock  the heart back into  a regular rhythm. With technological advances, AEDs  are now  a routine sight wherever people congregate. 

Communities which institute public CPR education, use  of AEDs,  and rapid activation  of 911 emergency medical services have dramatically increased survival rates from sudden cardiac arrest. Unfortunately, because  the brain is so sensitive  to the lack  of oxygen  and blood flow, unless treatment occurs within four  to six minutes, there  is a high risk  of some permanent brain damage. 

Should  the patient survive to be transported to  the hospital,  the reason for collapse  and sudden death will need  to be diagnosed. Regardless, the ABCs of resuscitation will be re-evaluated. Airway, Breathing,  and Circulation (heart  beat and blood pressure) will be supported,  and admission  to an intensive care unit is most likely. 

Diagnostic  tests may include repeated electrocardiograms (EKGs), echocardiogram (ultrasounds  of the heart), and cardiac catheterization and electrophysiologic studies, in which the electrical pathways  of the heart are mapped. 

Recent research involving  the treatment of survivors  of cardiac arrest suggests that prompt institution  of hypothermia (cooling  of the body) may prevent or lessen the degree  of brain injury. 

Survivors  of sudden cardiac arrest are often candidates for implantable cardiac defibrillators.