What're the treatments for cardiac arrest?
First aid: Seconds count. Call for help immediately or send someone for help. Begin cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) immediately. CPR only buys time for advanced responders to arrive and does not restart the heart. If an automated external defibrillator is available, use it at once. CPR helps keep blood and oxygen flowing to the heart and brain until other treatment can be given. The heart and brain are very susceptible to low oxygen levels. Permanent damage can occur, even with
successful resuscitation. During CPR, the rescuer positions the head to open the airway, breathes air into the patient, and compresses the patient's chest.
Field care: Appropriately trained personnel apply advanced cardiac life support protocols as soon as they arrive, unless there is a valid do not resuscitate order or advance health directive. If so, it is ethically appropriate to permit natural death to occur in accordance with the wishes of the patient. Once on the scene, emergency medical technicians or paramedics will quickly confirm a cardiac arrest and defibrillate the victim by sending an electrical shock through the chest. The surge of electricity aims to stop the ineffective, irregular heart rhythm. This may allow the heart to resume a more normal electrical pattern. Automated external defibrillators check the heart rhythm before instructing the rescuer to give the shock.
Hospital treatment: In many hospitals, cardiac arrest results in one of the carers announcing a "Code Blue" for immediate response by a trained team of nurses and doctors. The resuscitating team continues advanced cardiac life support until the patient recovers or a doctor declares the patients death. Epinephrine is often given early on to make the heart more receptive to electrical impulses and improve blood flow to the heart and brain. The patient will receive oxygen. Even if an effective heart rhythm is restored, low oxygen levels may cause serious complications, including damage to the heart, brain and other vital organs. Doctors will attempt to find and correct the underlying cause of the cardiac arrest. At the hospital, the doctor will ask about symptoms prior to the collapse and the patient's medical and drug history. If the patient survives, the doctor will assess the electrocardiograms performed by the emergency medical personnel and perform a physical exam. They will also confirm a cardiac arrest has occurred, and look for the cause, evaluate the effects of pre-hospital care. |
