Can general anesthesia stop your heart?

Yes: Some of the drugs used in anesthesia can be used to produce cardia arrest as some heart procedures require that the heart not be beating during the procedure. Also, an overdose of certain drugs can cause the heart to stop or an inadvertent reaction to a drug can cause many things to happen which could eventually cause cardiac stoppage.

Possibly: General anesthesia in high doses can do that. You could have a reaction to a drug injected into your i. V. This reaction is really rare.

Not easily: Some of the medications used in general anesthesia can have an effect on the heart. This is usually only the case in patients with severe underlying heart disease. There are some medical conditions that can also have a bad reaction with anesthesia. I would discuss all of your medical history with your anesthesiologist and see if you are in one of these high risk groups. We can tailor anesthetic.

No: General anesthesia is very safe. Thousands of surgeries are perform in usa safely with minimal complications. There are very rare complications like allergic anaphylactic reactions that can be associated with cardiac arrest. The majority of patients will respond to treatment even during those rare complications.