Most die before reaching the hospital.
Ventricular fibrillation is the most common arrhythmia that causes cardiac arrest.
Death usually follows unless responders are able to shock or defibrillate the heart into a normal heart rhythm within 5-7 minutes. The American Heart Association estimates that 100,000 or more deaths could be prevented if automated external defibrillators were more widely available to first-line emergency responders such as police officers and fire department personnel. The chain of survival is only as strong as its most critical link, which in most cases of cardiac arrest is early defibrillation. Inc. All rights reserved. Unauthorized use prohibited.