Cardiac Arrest
Cardiac arrest is what happens when a person dies. The heart does not beat and breathing ceases, which starves the body of oxygen. Sometimes a person can be revived during the first several minutes after cardiac arrest. However, the more time that passes, the less likely it is that the person can be revived and, if revived, the more likely it is that brain damage will have occurred. Brain damage is likely if cardiac arrest lasts for more than 5 minutes, and death is likely if cardiac arrest lasts for more than 10 minutes. Fewer than 5% of people who are not already hospitalized when they have a cardiac arrest survive to be discharged from the hospital, and many survivors have brain damage.
A person in cardiac arrest lies motionless without breathing and does not respond to questions or to stimulation, such as shaking. A rescuer who encounters someone who fits this description first determines whether the person is conscious by loudly asking, "Are you OK?" If there is no response, the rescuer turns the person face up and uses the "look, listen, and feel" approach to determine whether breathing has stopped:
• Looking to see whether the chest moves up and down
• Listening for sounds of breathing
• Feeling for air movement over the person's mouth
If the person is not breathing, the rescuer checks for airway blockage by looking into the mouth and throat for any visible objects.
First-Aid Treatment
First aid for cardiac arrest should proceed as quickly as possible. An automated external defibrillator (AED—a device that can start the heart beating again) should be used immediately if available. The next step is to call for emergency medical assistance. Next, if the person has not resumed breathing, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) should be started. CPR combines artificial respiration (mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, rescue breathing), which supplies oxygen to the lungs, with chest compressions, which circulate oxygen to the brain and other vital organs by forcing blood out of the heart.
Heart Attack First Aid
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Cardiac arrest is what happens when a person dies. The heart does not beat and breathing ceases, which starves the body of oxygen. Sometimes a person can be revived during the first several minutes after cardiac arrest. However, the more time that passes, the less likely it is that the person can be revived and, if revived, the more likely it is that brain damage will have occurred. Brain damage is likely if cardiac arrest lasts for more than 5 minutes, and death is likely if cardiac arrest lasts for more than 10 minutes. Fewer than 5% of people who are not already hospitalized when they have a cardiac arrest survive to be discharged from the hospital, and many survivors have brain damage.
A person in cardiac arrest lies motionless without breathing and does not respond to questions or to stimulation, such as shaking. A rescuer who encounters someone who fits this description first determines whether the person is conscious by loudly asking, "Are you OK?" If there is no response, the rescuer turns the person face up and uses the "look, listen, and feel" approach to determine whether breathing has stopped:
• Looking to see whether the chest moves up and down
• Listening for sounds of breathing
• Feeling for air movement over the person's mouth
If the person is not breathing, the rescuer checks for airway blockage by looking into the mouth and throat for any visible objects.
First-Aid Treatment
First aid for cardiac arrest should proceed as quickly as possible. An automated external defibrillator (AED—a device that can start the heart beating again) should be used immediately if available. The next step is to call for emergency medical assistance. Next, if the person has not resumed breathing, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) should be started. CPR combines artificial respiration (mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, rescue breathing), which supplies oxygen to the lungs, with chest compressions, which circulate oxygen to the brain and other vital organs by forcing blood out of the heart.
Heart Attack First Aid
Read More :
