Cardiac arrest in adults is most commonly caused by ischemic cardiovascular disease and associated with ventricular fibrillation, though its precipitants are poorly understood.
At least 225,000 people in the United States will die suddenly this year from coronary heart disease before they reach a hospital.1,2 In addition, an estimated 370,000 to 750,000 patients will have a cardiac arrest and undergo attempted resuscitation during hospitalization.3 The causes of cardiac arrest are numerous; by far the most common in adults is ischemic cardiovascular disease.46 The arrest is usually associated with the lethal arrhythmia of ventricular fibrillation triggered by an acutely ischemic or infarcted myocardium or by a primary electrical disturbance. The precipitants of a life-threatening arrhythmia such as ventricular fibrillation are poorly understood. . . .
Eisenberg et al. (Thu,) conducted a review in Cardiac arrest. Cardiac arrest in adults is most commonly caused by ischemic cardiovascular disease and associated with ventricular fibrillation, though its precipitants are poorly understood.