Sudden cardiac arrest kills some 300,000 Americans a year. The heart loses its normal electrical rhythm and the pumping mechanism collapses, so unless the patient gets prompt CPR and an electric shock to restore the heartbeat, brain damage sets in quickly from the loss of blood flow and the patient dies -- usually before they get to the hospital.
Tim Russert, the NBC newscaster, never had a chance to survive his sudden cardiac arrest in June 2008, because it happened...
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