Cardiac Arrest : The Side Effects Of Saving Lives

Evidence-Based Practice, Step by Step: Asking the Clinical Question: A Key Step in Evidence-Based Practice

The lack or delay in appropriate treatment for individuals who experience a sudden cardiac arrest has created a major public health disparity. Research into pre-hospital treatment and subsequent implementation has historically seen neglect by the medical and scientific community creating vast differences in survivability of cardiac arrests between demographic groups. In 2010, the American Heart Association and Emergency Cardiovascular Care program developed the 2020 impact goal to reduce death from cardiovascular disease and stroke by 20% and double out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) survival rates (http://circ.ahajournals.org/content/121/4/586#sec-1). This has prompted a massive influx of research into the disparities that exist and an

Participation in high intensity sporting activities is widely considered to be a contributor to positive cardiac health. However, for a portion of the athletic population, sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) poses a serious risk (Chatard, Mujika, Goiriena, & Carre, 2016). Although considered rare with estimates of one death every three days in the United States (Pigozzi, Rizzo, & Maffulli, 2009), the impact of the often-fatal event resonates through society due to the young age of the athlete and the immediacy of the decline of the perceived healthy person (Chatard et al., 2016).

This paper will be going over a scenario involving a real patient and what things could have been different with EMS care. It will also be covering what exactly cardiac arrest is and what rhythms produce it. And for every cardiac rhythm in cardiac arrest, there is a specific treatment plan paramedics can follow.

The case I chose was published in The Baltimore Sun. The title of the article is, Prosecutors: No Charges against Baltimore officer who used Taser on teen. This article is about a 19 year-old teen named George Vonn King Jr. who died from cardiac arrest. The article states that Mr. King was tased several times by police, before going into cardiac arrest (George). This incident took place at the “MedStar Good Samaritan hospital” in Baltimore MD, where Mr. King was admitted as a patient. Mr. King suffered from Meningitis which causes seizures, along with aggressive behavior. When King was asked by hospital staff to move to the intensive care unit, he became aggressive, which may have been because of the medication he received (George). Hospital

"Medic respond, stoppage," chirped the intercom. The call went out for an adult male found down, pulseless and apneic, by family at approximately 2200 hours. EMS personnel arrived on scene, performed quality CPR and followed appropriate ACLS algorithms, and found an organized rhythm with matching peripheral pulses at the third check. Per 2010 AHA guidelines, medics performed a 12 lead EKG, managed the patient 's hypotension with a fluid bolus, and managed the patient 's airway by endotracheal intubation (American Heart Association, 2011). The patient displayed no neurological response, the EKG revealed significant ST segment elevation in anterior and septal leads, and intubation was performed successfully without induction or paralytic

In this article published in the journal Dyanmics, also known as the journal for the Canadian Association of Critical Care Nurses, the authors review a retrospective cohort regarding the barriers for time to target temperature management in cardiac arrest patients who are treated with therapeutic hypothermia. The article authored by a both registerd nurses and medical doctors open by reviewing the benefits of therapeutic hypothermia. The article reviews two randomized controlled trials that showed that therapeutic hypothermia when compared to no intervention correlated with improved neurological survival in patients after cardiac arrest. Therapeutic hypothermia has a direct relation to patient survival with intact neurologic function; however

The wide receiver catches the football and immediately drops to the ground, unconscious. This is exactly how unexpected sudden cardiac arrest is in adolescents. The reported incidence of pediatric sudden cardiac death ranges from 0.8 to 6.2 cases per 100,000 children in the United States every year (Berger, Kugler, Thomas, and Friedberg 1201). Approximately 20-25% of the deaths occur during sports (Gajewski and Saul 107). “Sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) is a condition in which the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. If this happens, blood stops flowing to the brain and other vital organs (“What is Sudden Cardiac Arsrest?”).” Sudden cardiac death, or SCD, usually occurs “within one hour of onset symptoms

When not given CPR right away , the cardiac arrest victim may have no chance to survive until professional care providers arrive on the scene. On an average it takes three to four minutes for the EMS to get there. It is most effective immediately after a victim’s heart stops beating. According to The American Heart Association(2017), “For each minute CPR is not performed the chance of survival decreases by 10%”(para.5). Saying that by the time the EMS arrives to the scene that victim’s chance of living decreased by 40%. For a bystander to perform CPR they would be getting the blood pumping to the brain and other organs. If a cardiac arrest were to take place the victim may have chest pains then collapse or faint. By collapsing they will go

The overall view of the article discusses the effectiveness of medication administration during the out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. A study performed out of Oslo, Norway performed a study of cardiac arrest patient and the outcomes based on that patient receiving medications outlined in the ACLS guidelines and patient who received only mechanical resuscitation efforts. The service used covers a population of approximately 500,000 people and each ambulance is staffed with two paramedics. In the event of a cardiac

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation, otherwise known as CPR, can help save a person’s life, so why not become certified? Oahu CPR Training based in Pearl City, HI is the island’s source for the best emergency care training, including CPR certification classes, and says if you aren’t already, you should consider becoming certified.

Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) is a life-saving procedure that is performed when a person’s heart or breathing has stopped ( ). CPR may be needed in many different situations, including time when a person’s airway has become obstructed, circumstances of drowning, electrocution, and heart attacks. The principle of CPR is to have someone else breathes and/or pumps the heart for someone who’s breathing and heart has stopped. The source behind the use of CPR is to keep the heart beating so that blood continues to circulate throughout the body and to the brain. This works by compressions on the sternum, used in the absence of a normal heartbeat, causing a change in pressure in the chest cavity which makes the blood flow throughout the person's

Without early intervention on average 360,000 people out of the hospital succumb to cardiac arrest. “ Cardiac arrest and sudden death account for 60 percent of all deaths from coronary artery disease”,(Bledsoe, Porter, & Cherry, 2011,2007,2004, p. 1229)There are several causes of sudden cardiac arrest. Most are caused by ventricular fibrillation. “During ventricular fibrillation, the ventricles do not beat normally. Instead they quiver rapidly and irregularly.” When this occurs, the heart pumps very little and blood does not get circulated throughout the body. “ Most of the cases found with sudden cardiac death are related to undetected cardiovascular disease.("Sudden Cardiac Death," 2015, para. 2)Sudden cardiac arrest are immediate and drastic that includes sudden collapse, no pulse, not breathing, and loss of consciousness. “Four rhythms produce pulseless cardiac arrest: ventricular fibrillation, rapid ventricular tachycardia, pulseless electrical activity and asystole.”("Circulation ," 2005, p. IV-58)Other signs and symptoms that could occur prior to sudden cardiac arrest, include fatigue,

Medications can be used during the defibrillation process. Recent changes to the resuscitation protocols provided by the Australian Resuscitation Council (ARC) recommend that 1 mg of adrenaline be administered through an IV line every 2nd CPR cycle. If the patient has a shockable rhythm such as ventricular fibrillation or pulseless ventricular tachycardia adrenaline is administered after CPR cycles and after the second defibrillation. In the case of “pulseless electrical activity arrest” or “asystolic arrest” the adrenaline needs to be administered immediately. ARC also recommend that Amiodarone can be administered when the cardiac arrest is “routine”. The dose of 300 mg is administered to patients with shockable rhythms such as ventricular

Another choice the patient determines is if they would aim to receive CPR however performing CPR on hospitalized patients is usually ineffective, with only 6 to 17 percent of patients surviving to discharge (Ackermann, 1557). If a patient requests a DNR then he does not want to be resuscitated if his heart stops. Sometime patients do not understand what is included in CPR and to make the patient understand that the doctor should explain it thoroughly. CPR is not “doing everything” that implies that not performing CPR is “doing nothing” (Ackermann, 1557). The discussion of CPR should also include any other life-prolonging therapies so the patient understands that even if they request a DNR that does not mean they are denying any other