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Noun: cardiac arrest  'kaa(r)-dee,ak u'rest
  1. 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
    "The medical team quickly responded to the patient's cardiac arrest with defibrillation";
    - asystole, cardiopulmonary arrest

Derived forms: cardiac arrests

Type of: pathology

Encyclopedia: Cardiac arrest