Pulseless Electrical Activity is best described as a cardiac arrest in which the ECG shows a rhythm that should be producing a pulse, but is not.

• A. A rhythm that should be producing a pulse but is not
• B. A rhythm that produces a pulse
• C. A normal sinus rhythm
• D. Ventricular fibrillation

Answer: (A)

Pulseless Electrical Activity is a cardiac arrest where the ECG shows organized electrical activity that would normally produce a pulse, but there is no detectable pulse because the heart’s mechanical pumping isn’t occurring effectively. In other words, the rhythm on the monitor looks like it should be perfusing the body, yet no blood flow is actually generated. This distinguishes it from rhythms that are truly producing a pulse (which isn’t PEA) and from chaotic, non-organized rhythms like ventricular fibrillation (which also fails to generate a pulse but shows a very different ECG pattern). In practice, PEA is a non-shockable arrest rhythm managed with CPR and medications while you search for reversible causes.