Based on the 2005 International Consensus Conference on Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and Emergency Cardiovascular Care Science with Treatment Recommendations of the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation (ILCOR), guidelines were published for managing basic and advanced life-saving procedures in the event of cardiac arrest. The fact that special circumstances for cardiac arrest must be considered resulted in a separate chapter. This two-part article reviews essential information as well as necessary modifications of the standard advanced life support algorithm in cases of electrolyte disorders, hyperthermia and hypothermia, cardiac arrest in pregnancy, trauma, electrical emergencies and cardiac surgery. Part 1 has already dealt with life-threatening drowning, asthma, anaphylaxis and poisoning.