cardiopulmonary arrest
Noun: A critical medical emergency characterized by the sudden cessation of functional circulation and breathing due to the heart's inability to contract effectively. This results in the absence of a detectable heartbeat and the immediate halt of blood flow, leading rapidly to a lack of oxygen in the body's tissues and, if untreated, to death.
This term is used in formal medical contexts to describe the specific condition where both cardiac and pulmonary functions stop. - The patient was admitted after suffering a cardiopulmonary arrest. - Immediate CPR is crucial for survival following cardiopulmonary arrest.
- "to go into cardiopulmonary arrest": to experience the sudden onset of this condition.
- Despite the surgery's success, the patient unfortunately went into cardiopulmonary arrest hours later.
- Cardiac arrest: A closely related term often used interchangeably in general contexts, though it specifically denotes the failure of the heart to beat effectively, which is the primary event leading to the full cardiopulmonary arrest.
- CPA: A common medical abbreviation for cardiopulmonary arrest.
- Asystole: The specific condition of "absence of systole" or no cardiac electrical activity, which is one cause of cardiopulmonary arrest.
- Clinical death: A term emphasizing the cessation of vital functions that is potentially reversible with immediate intervention.
- Sudden cardiac arrest: Highlights the abrupt nature of the cardiac event leading to the arrest.
- "to code" (medical slang): To experience cardiopulmonary arrest, requiring a "code blue" or emergency resuscitation response.
- The surgeon yelled that the patient was coding.
Cardiopulmonary arrest is the final common pathway of many severe illnesses and injuries. It is distinct from a heart attack (myocardial infarction), which is a circulation problem often caused by a blockage, whereas arrest is an electrical problem leading to a pump failure. The reference to "ventricular fibrillation" is a specific, chaotic heart rhythm that is a frequent cause of the ineffective contractions described in the definition.
- absence of systole; failure of the ventricles of the heart to contract (usually caused by ventricular fibrillation) with consequent absence of the heart beat leading to oxygen lack and eventually to death