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Sudden cardiac arrest is among the leading killers of Americans, striking an estimated 382,800 people in the US each year.¹
Sudden cardiac arrest is an abrupt loss of heart function caused primarily by the rapid and/or chaotic electrical activity of the heart known as ventricular tachycardia (VT) or ventricular fibrillation (VF). During sudden cardiac arrest, the heart fails to pump blood to the vital organs.
Signs of sudden cardiac arrest include unconsciousness and irregular or no breathing.
Sudden cardiac arrest renders a person clinically dead within minutes, unless treated immediately with defibrillation or with bystander CPR followed by defibrillation. For every minute that elapses after sudden cardiac arrest, the chances of survival diminish 10 percent.
Sudden cardiac arrest is NOT a heart attack (myocardial infarction), which is caused by a blocked vessel leading to loss of blood supply to a portion of the heart muscle. However, sudden cardiac arrest often occurs secondary to a heart attack.

About nine out of 10 Americans who have suffered a SCA have died. This 92 percent death rate on the national level has not significantly improved for more than three decades.
Almost 80 percent of sudden cardiac arrests happen outside the hospital, and less than 30 percent of victims receive bystander CPR.

The causes of sudden cardiac arrest in children and adolescents are varied and often include undiagnosed heart conditions that result from abnormal heart structure or function, primarily electrical abnormalities or outside factors such as a sudden blow to the chest or drug use.
In the United States, a young competitive athlete dies suddenly every three days. The average age when sudden cardiac death occurs in young athletes is 17.5 years.
The risk of SCA is three times greater in competitive athletes. More than two-thirds of young athletes who die suddenly are basketball and football players (67%). College male basketball players are disproportionately affected by SCA (1 in almost 7,000).

Recognizing SCA is the first crucial step. You should always call 911 if you see someone collapse.
Sudden cardiac arrest is time critical. Waiting for help to arrive will decrease the chances of survival. If chest compressions are not provided to SCA victims within a few minutes, they will likely die.
Chest compressions keep oxygen in the blood circulating throughout the body.
Using an AED to shock the heart back into rhythm can double the chance of survival.

(1) American Heart Association's 2012 Heart and Stroke Statistics (Circulation. Jan 3 2012;125(1):e2-e220)

Ricky Rubio wants you to know about sudden cardiac arrest in young athletes.