A cardiac arrest happens when someone’s heart
stops pumping blood around their body. They will lose
responsiveness almost immediately and show no other signs of life,
such as breathing or movement.
If you see someone having a cardiac arrest, you
need to act quickly as they’ll only have a chance of surviving if
they receive life saving first aid immediately.
You need to call 999 and give immediate CPR
(cardiopulmonary resuscitation - see the video below).
You should also ask any bystanders to find a
defibrillator (an automated
external defibrillator – AED for short), which
restarts the heart by giving an electric shock.
Lots of public places have them, including
shopping centres, train stations, airports, offices and
Watch our video - Adult CPR
What to look for - Cardiac arrest
There are three signs that someone has had a
- 1. Sudden loss of responsiveness
- 2. No breathing
- 3. No movement or other signs of life
What you need to do - Cardiac arrest
Call 999 or 112 straight away for medical help or ask a
bystander to do it, so that you can start doing CPR sooner. Make
sure you communicate with a specific person, so that no time is
lost while people hesitate.
Is there a defibrillator available?
If there is a defibrillator,
grab the AED or ask a specific person
to get it for you and switch it on. It will then give you a series
of visual and verbal prompts which you should follow until the
If there isn’t a defibrillator,
you need to start CPR straight away and
carry on until:
• emergency help arrives and takes over
• the person starts showing signs of life
and starts to breathe normally, or
• you are too exhausted to continue