A respiratory arrest is the cessation of normal respiration due to failure of the lungs to contract effectively.
A respiratory arrest is different from (but may be caused by) a cardiac arrest, where the heart muscles fail to contract properly
Respiratory arrest prevents delivery of oxygen to the body. Lack of oxygen to the brain causes loss of consciousness. Brain injury is likely if respiratory arrest goes untreated for more than three minutes, and death is almost certain if left untreated for more than five minutes. For the best chance of survival and recovery, immediate and decisive treatment is imperative.
Respiratory arrest is a medical emergency that, in certain situations, is potentially reversible if treated early. The treatment for respiratory arrest is artificial ventilation.
Famous quotes containing the word arrest:
“Let me arrest thy thoughts; wonder with me,
Why plowing, building, ruling and the rest,
Or most of those arts, whence our lives are blest,
By cursed Cain’s race invented be,
And blest Seth vexed us with Astronomie.”
—John Donne (c. 1572–1631)