cardiac arrest

American  

noun

Pathology.

1. abrupt cessation of heartbeat.

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cardiac arrest British  

noun

1. failure of the pumping action of the heart, resulting in loss of consciousness and absence of pulse and breathing: a medical emergency requiring immediate resuscitative treatment

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cardiac arrest Cultural  

1. See heart attack.

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Etymology

Origin of cardiac arrest

First recorded in 1955–60

Example Sentences

He went into cardiac arrest while at the hospital and required three rounds of cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 27, 2026

Pilgrims perform most of the hajj's rites outdoors where more than a million devotees gather in stifling conditions, with many attendees succumbing to heatstroke, fainting spells and even cardiac arrest triggered by the heat.

From Barron's • May 25, 2026

Martha Smith-Higgins, prosecuting, said a postmortem revealed he suffered a hypnoxic brain injury, meaning a lack of oxygen to the brain, as well as a cardiac arrest and bleeding on the brain.

From BBC • May 15, 2026

The property was home to the “Thriller” legend for just six months before he died on June 25, 2009, having suffered from cardiac arrest caused by “acute Propofol intoxication.”

From MarketWatch • May 5, 2026

Chance of cardiac arrest; be better, he reflected, if I lived in town where those buildings have a doctor standing by with those electro-spark machines.

From "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" by Philip K. Dick