Cardiac arrest
Cardiac arrest is not preceded by any warning symptoms in approximately 50 percent of people. For those who do experience symptoms, they will be non-specific, such as new or worsening chest pain, fatigue, blackouts, dizziness, shortness of breath, weakness and vomiting. When cardiac arrest occurs, the most obvious sign of its occurrence will be the lack of a palpable pulse in the victim. Also, as a result of loss of cerebral perfusion (blood flow to the brain), the victim will rapidly lose consciousness and will stop breathing. The main criterion for diagnosing a cardiac arrest, as opposed to respiratory arrest, which shares many of the same features, is lack of circulation; however, there are a number of ways of determining this. Near-death experiences are reported by 10 to 20 percent of people who survived cardiac arrest.