The heart’s electrical activity becomes chaotic, and it can’t pump blood to the rest of the body. It is letting it happen and then shocking you out of it.” It’s the equivalent of jump-starting a car after the battery has died.

The main causes of cardiac arrest related to the heart are: The condition usually results from an electrical disturbance in your heart that disrupts its pumping action, stopping blood flow to your body.Sudden cardiac arrest differs from a heart attack, when blood flow to a part of the heart is blocked. Sudden cardiac arrest is the abrupt loss of heart function, breathing and consciousness. Sudden cardiac arrest can happen in people without heart disease. Cardiac arrest occurs when the rhythm of the heart stops. Eventually, an area of plaque can rupture (break open). A blood clot can partly or fully block the flow of oxygen-rich blood to the portion of heart muscle fed by the artery. Why Does Cardiac Arrest Often Strike in the Morning? This may cause a blood clot to form on the plaque's surface. A common cause of a cardiac arrest is a life-threatening abnormal heart rhythm called ventricular fibrillation (VF). CPR Saves Lives. About 80% of cases are due to existing coronary artery disease. A heart attack stems from a circulation, or "plumbing," problem of the heart, according to the Sudden Cardiac Arrest Association.

Plaque narrows the arteries and reduces blood flow to your heart muscle.

Currently, about 9 in 10 people who have cardiac arrest outside the hospital die.3 … Cardiac arrest is an extremely serious health issue. However, in most cases SCA is the first sign of a heart problem. What causes a cardiac arrest? That is, those affected were unaware of their heart disease until they had sudden cardiac arrest. VF happens when the electrical activity of the heart becomes so chaotic that the heart stops pumping, Instead, it quivers or 'fibrillates'. The immediate cause of most sudden cardiac arrests is an abnormal heart rhythm.