If a person dies suddenly, the first change to the heart is a malignant arrhythmia, most commonly ventricular tachycardia or ventricular flutter, which can quickly lead to cardiac arrest and death. So a short period of time before sudden death may be characterized by ventricular tachycardia or ventricular flutter, when the heartbeat is very fast and may exceed 250 beats per minute or even 300 beats per minute. If this translates into cardiac arrest, the heartbeat can be zero or pulseless electrophysiologic activity, in which case the heart may beat very slowly, around 5-6 beats/minute, and the radial or carotid arteries can usually be palpated for lack of pulsation.