How is cardiac arrest treated?

How is cardiac arrest treated?

Emergency cardiac arrest treatment includes restarting your heart and restoring a regular rhythm. Care includes using:

• Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR): Immediate CPR is one of the most important treatments to improve cardiac arrest survival. CPR is often performed until an automatic or external defibrillator is ready. CPR uses chest compressions to replace the heart’s pumping action. It moves small amounts of blood from your heart to your brain.
• Automatic defibrillator or external defibrillator: Once connected, this device delivers a brief electrical current (shock) to your chest. The current travels to your heart. This stops the abnormal impulses and restores the normal impulses that make it beat. It may take more than one shock for your heart to pump on its own again.