Case history
Case history
A 70-year-old woman with a history of hypertension, hyperlipidaemia, 40 pack-years of cigarette smoking, and remote percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty, is witnessed falling to the ground while brushing her pavement. She has not complained of any preceding symptoms. The emergency medical personnel who respond quickly to the scene find her unconscious and pale, with agonal respirations but no pulse. After the pads from an automated external defibrillator are attached, the patient is noted to be in ventricular fibrillation.
Other presentations
Pulseless electrical activity (PEA) and asystole are less common presentations of cardiac arrest. PEA is defined as the presence of electrical activity in the absence of cardiac output. When there is no electrical activity, the rhythm is referred to as asystole.
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