Archive for the ‘Cardiac Arrest’ Category

Increasing the Number of Public Defibrillators

Sunday, March 27th, 2011

People have always been caught off guard when someone falls on the streets due to a heart attack. For many bystanders, the first response is panic and then other people act when they realize that a person will die in front of their eyes when they could have helped. CPR is always the first thing people do when someone they do not know has collapsed. This has helped a lot of people but it is in rare cases because not everyone walking down the street has the required skills to perform CPR. Other people fear that they might kill the patient faster than the heart attack due to lack of skills or they fear doing the mouth to mouth breathing procedure. Increasing the number of public defibrillators is an excellent idea because a heart attack does not give patients a warning. Cardiac arrests are random in occurrence; some occur due to shock, lack of medicine or the abnormal and uncontrolled heart attack.

When the number of public defibrillators is increased, every street, institution or playing field will have the defibrillators. This means that people who have random heart attacks will receive quick medical response because the public defibrillators will be near. The idea is to call for help when a person has collapsed due to cardiac arrest and administer CPR while waiting for the defibrillator to arrive. The device will take two to three minutes to arrive and this depends on the location of the heart attack. A person who falls on the streets will not wait for a long time for the device to be brought and the procedure started. The airport has its defibrillators always ready for emergency purposes. Most schools and playing fields also have such devices. This shows that the public has taken the initiative to save lives while waiting for emergency personnel to arrive. Using a defibrillator is simple and safe because it has an audio command that shows people what to do every single moment.

People have always feared carrying out CPR in public when they are not skilled. This fear has been eliminated by a device that can administer shocks with the click of a button. Emergency personnel will arrive later to take a patient who has experienced a heart attack but before this team arrives, the public has only five minutes to help stabilize the heart rhythms of a person who has collapsed and save a life. These defibrillators are stored in different street corners, train stations, airports and other places because nobody knows when these devices will be used. People who have survived a heart attack because a public defibrillator was used have no complications when they are taken to the hospital. CPR administered by people who are not experienced causes complications when a patient survives. The need for defibrillators in every location is very important because it will save the lives of very many people who need instant medical response. The good thing about an increased number of public defibrillators is that a person can get it while on foot, eliminating the feature of heavy traffic because the devices are within reach.

Knowledge of Defibrillation Could Save Lives

Monday, March 7th, 2011

There have been sad cases of marathoners suddenly falling while racing, sport cyclists falling off their bicycles and having a cardiac arrest. Students who play school sports either in High school or Universities suddenly fall on the ground and nobody knows what is wrong until a doctor pronounces them dead. People working late at night in restaurants and normal runners taking a moderate jog in the morning fall on sidewalks due to cardiac arrest all die because immediate response team did not know about portable defibrillators. All these cases would have been managed if bystanders had the knowledge needed to administer CPR and defibrillation within the first five minutes after the cardiac arrest.

The knowledge of defibrillation is very important and easy to apply. CPR alone and waiting for emergency personnel to arrive will not change the fact that a victim on the ground will barely make it after five minutes. In many cases where victims’ heart stopped suddenly, family and friends wished that somebody trained could have saved the victims’ lives.

The most incredible medical device that has been incorporated in the society to be used by anybody is a portable defibrillator. This device does not require technical skills to operate it and many people who have the knowledge of its existence can save a lot of lives. Arrhythmia and ventricular tachycardia are among the most dangerous heart conditions that cause cardiac arrest and death after a short while.

When the heart stops functioning, the other organs will shut down very fast and the brain being the major organ in the body that cannot be replaced, it will lack oxygen and also shut down leading to death. This occurs after a very short period of time of about five minutes if the heart does not restart. The most important thing to know is that a cardiac arrest victim is unconscious and everything that has to be done to save the life of this person has to be effective and fast.

The knowledge of how to use a defibrillator is very important. This can be taught to anybody and it does not require physical classes to be ready for an emergency. The first steps of emergency response are very simple which involves calling the emergency personnel and fetching the defibrillator. CPR should be done while another person is preparing the AED. A person who has collapsed due to a heart attack should be removed from a place that is damp or has water to prevent electrocution. Wire bracelets and necklaces should also be removed to prevent burns. The pads are labeled and the kit comes with very clear and simple instructions.

The defibrillator analyzes the rhythm of the heart and checks for a pulse that can be shocked. A person carrying out this procedure will perform easily because a voice command will request for a shock when needed to normalize the heart’s rhythm. Many lives will be saves and the end of a cardiac arrest will not be death if people have the basic knowledge of defibrillation and lifesaving skills.

Three Things You Should Know Post-Cardiac Arrest

Tuesday, March 1st, 2011

The most important factor following cardiac arrest is the quality of after care. After care should include proper use of medication, extreme monitoring of blood pressure, keeping blood sugar levels in normal range and making sure that cholesterol levels are carefully observed. Immediately after cardiac arrest, patients will be hooked up to an electrocardiogram for constant monitoring.

If there are underlying conditions such as diabetes, other precautions need to be followed to prevent further complications. There are three things that you should know that could contribute to death following cardiac arrest: 1) brain injury-caused by lack of oxygen 2) heart dysfunction-abnormal heartbeat or arrhythmia 3) inflammation of arteries or veins-high cholesterol may cause a heart attack where an immediate artery-opening procedure called angioplasty is required. In the event of arrhythmia, many patients also need to have a defibrillator implanted.

Brain injury occurs when there is a cessation of blood flow to the brain, as in the case when a victim falls into unconsciousness following cardiac arrest. That is why post cardiac care begins with immediate medical intervention to ensure that there isn’t any permanent neurological damage.

A defibrillator is an electronic device that is used to shock the heart following cardiac arrest. When cardiac arrest is caused by arrhythmia the device corrects the pattern of irregular heartbeats and returns the heart’s rhythm back to regular beats. When a patient suffers cardiac arrest- the heart is under attack, it beats out of rhythm. Under normal circumstances, the beat of the heart is controlled by an electrical sequence that signals the correct rhythm in the right atrium. The defibrillator is used to restore normal contraction rhythms, after cardiac arrest the heart is no longer capable of maintaining normal contractions- it delivers shock-waves directly to the heart.

It should be noted that a defibrillator is not the same as a pacemaker. It can be used in conjunction with a pacemaker when the heart no longer functions correctly. Patients with certain conditions such as coronary artery disease or congestive heart failure are the ones who benefit the most from a defibrillator. There are many health conditions which require that patient have a defibrillator implanted to prevent future cardiac episodes. Coronary artery or heart disease is a leading cause of all deaths related to cardiac arrest.

Cardiac arrest causes an interruption in blood flow to the heart. It’s characterized by the need to increased circulatory support by trained medical personnel immediately following the attack. Medical emergency treatment involves the use of a defibrillator to shock the heart back into rhythm, it’s critical in instances involving a loss of consciousness. The defibrillator is used to shock the heart until a rhythm is present. If medical efforts fail and heart beats are not re-established and there is no present after defibrillation and CPR, there is nothing else that can be done medically for the patient.

Research has shown that receiving immediate medical intervention and post cardiac care improves the chances of recovery and survival following cardiac arrest.