Respiratory arrest

Alternative names

Respiration slowed or stopped; Not breathing; Breathing - slowed or stopped; Apnea

Definition

Apnea means absence of spontaneous breathing from any cause. Apnea can be intermittent and temporary, as occurs with obstructive sleep apnea, or prolonged. Prolonged apnea is also called respiratory arrest.

Considerations

Prolonged apnea (respiratory arrest) is a life-threatening disorder that requires immediate medical attention and first aid.

Any episode of apnea, even a temporary one, in which a person turns blue, has a seizure, becomes limp, or remains drowsy or unconscious, requires prompt medical attention.

Apnea can occur for many different reasons. The most common causes of apnea in infants and small children are generally quite different from the most common causes in adults.

In infants and children, the most common cause of cardiac arrest (lack of an effective heartbeat) is a preceding respiratory arrest. In adults, the opposite usually occurs: cardiac arrest leads to respiratory arrest.

Common Causes

Common causes of apnea in infants and young children include:

• prematurity
  
• bronchiolitis or pneumonia
  
• foreign object aspiration or choking
  
• breath-holding spells
  
• seizures
  
• meningitis or encephalitis
  
• gastroesophageal reflux
  
• bronchospasm (asthma)
  

Common causes of apnea in adults include:

• obstructive sleep apnea
  
• choking
  
• drug overdose, especially drugs such as alcohol, narcotic analgesics, barbiturates, anesthetics, and other depressants (see drug abuse first aid)
  
• cardiac arrest
  

Other causes of apnea include:

• near-drowning
  
• head or brain-stem injury
  
• irregular heartbeat (arrhythmias)
  
• metabolic disorders
  
• nervous system disorders
  

Home Care

If a person has stopped breathing, emergency measures should be taken, and call for emergency help! Also see the information on CPR.