Which term corresponds to the description 'Primary cause of cardiac arrest'?

• A. Pediatric Cardiac Arrest
• B. Epiglottitis
• C. Respiratory Failure in Children
• D. SIDS

Answer: (C)

Respiratory failure in children is the most common trigger for pediatric cardiac arrest. When breathing or airway function fails, oxygen delivery to the heart and brain drops rapidly. The heart can compensate briefly, but ongoing hypoxemia leads to bradycardia and eventually cardiac arrest if not reversed. This makes respiratory failure the best match to the description of the primary cause of cardiac arrest in kids. Other terms describe the event itself, a specific airway disease, or a sudden unexplained death in infancy, none of which best capture the initiating factor that leads to arrest in most pediatric cases.