Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) 2025 – 400 Free Practice Questions to Pass the Exam

Minimizing brain damage during a cardiac arrest event is crucial, and the critical time period is established based on the understanding of how long the brain can survive without adequate blood flow and oxygen. The correct choice highlights that within 4 minutes of cardiac arrest, irreversible brain damage can begin to occur.

During this time, the brain's demand for oxygen is significant, and if circulation is not restored, neuronal tissue will suffer from hypoxia, leading to cell death. After approximately 4 minutes, the likelihood of severe brain damage increases substantially, making immediate intervention, such as CPR and defibrillation, paramount in these early minutes.

Beyond this timeframe, while some brain tissue may still be salvageable up to 10 minutes or longer in some circumstances, the risk of irreversible damage becomes significantly higher after the 4-minute mark. This underscores the importance of rapid response measures in cases of cardiac arrest to improve survival rates and neurological outcomes.