What Can Cause Sudden Cardiac Arrest? 

Cardiac Arrest is caused by arrhythmias. An arrhythmia is a change in the rhythm of your heartbeat. When the heart beats too fast, it's called tachycardia or ventricular tachycarida. When it beats too slow, it's called bradycardia. An arrhythmia can also mean that your heart beats irregularly (skips a beat or has an extra beat).

When heart beats are rapid, the heart chambers flutter and do not pump blood to the organs. Ventricular Tachycardia is the most common type of arrhythmia. Without intervention a person suffering from ventricular tachycardia will lose consciousness and stop breathing.

Bradycardia is a slow heart beat, usually below 60 beats per minute. This type of arrhythmia causes the victim to feel weak, become light-headed and possibly faint. Without intervention a person suffering from bradycardia will also lose consciousness and stop breathing.

Other factors that cause sudden cardiac arrest are a malfunctioning electrical system (of the heart), caffeine, smoking, drugs, (cocaine, amphetamines), stress, anger, alcohol, increased blood pressure, coronary artery disease, heart failure, other heart related problems such as heart murmurs, genetics, and even unknown factors.