Sudden Cardiac Arrest

Sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) occurs when the lower chambers of the heart suddenly stop beating normally and develop what is called ventricular fibrillation (VF). Ventricular fibrillation is a very fast, chaotic heart rate in the lower chambers of the heart. The instant ventricular fibrillation begins, effective blood pumping stops. Ventricular fibrillation quickly becomes more erratic, resulting in sudden cardiac arrest. If this is not corrected immediately via a shock from an external defibrillator or an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD), death will follow. The defibrillator stops the chaotic electrical activity and restores normal heart rhythm.