Electrical current passing through the body can stop the heart and cause death within 4 - 6 minutes.

Electrical current passing through the body can stop the heart and cause death within 4 - 6 minutes.

• A. False
• B. True
• C. It depends
• D. Not sure

Answer: (B)

Electrical current passing through the body can disrupt the heart’s electrical system. The heart relies on its own electrical impulses to maintain a coordinated rhythm. When current travels through the chest, it can drive the heart into a dangerous arrhythmia, such as ventricular fibrillation, causing it to stop pumping effectively. Once the heart isn’t pumping, blood flow to the brain and other organs is cut off. Without oxygen, brain damage begins within minutes, and death can follow if rescue or defibrillation isn’t promptly provided. That risk exists in many real exposures, so the possibility of the heart stopping and death within a few minutes is a real and critical safety concern. The exact outcome can vary with current strength, path through the body, and duration, but the danger is real enough that this is treated as a true hazard in electrical safety training.

Electrical current passing through the body can disrupt the heart’s electrical system. The heart relies on its own electrical impulses to maintain a coordinated rhythm. When current travels through the chest, it can drive the heart into a dangerous arrhythmia, such as ventricular fibrillation, causing it to stop pumping effectively. Once the heart isn’t pumping, blood flow to the brain and other organs is cut off. Without oxygen, brain damage begins within minutes, and death can follow if rescue or defibrillation isn’t promptly provided. That risk exists in many real exposures, so the possibility of the heart stopping and death within a few minutes is a real and critical safety concern. The exact outcome can vary with current strength, path through the body, and duration, but the danger is real enough that this is treated as a true hazard in electrical safety training.