The heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. Blood stops flowing to the brain and other vital organs, and without treatment, within minutes a person is typically dead.
But, a new study has suggested that sudden cardiac arrest isn't so sudden as half of sufferers experience warning signs hours, days, sometimes even weeks before cardiac arrest strikes, doctors at Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute in Los Angeles discovered.
However, most people ignore those symptoms – and miss a chance to save their own lives, according to the study.
Study leader Dr Sumeet Chugh said: ‘By the time the 911 call is made, it’s much too late for at least 90 per cent of people.
‘There’s this window of opportunity that we didn’t really know existed.’









