Category: EMT
- Cardiogenic Shock ()
Cardiogenic shock, also known as cardiac shock, happens when the heart cannot pump enough blood and oxygen to the brain and other vital organs. This is a life-threatening emergency. Without oxygen-rich blood reaching the brain and other vital organs, blood pressure drops, and the pulse slows. Most often the cause of cardiogenic shock is a serious […]
- Perfusion – It’s All About The Flow ()
Perfusion is the passage of fluid through the circulatory system or lymphatic system to an organ or a tissue, usually referring to the delivery of blood to a capillary bed in tissue. Perfusion is measured as the rate at which blood is delivered to tissue, or volume of blood per unit time (blood flow) per unit tissue mass. The word is derived from the French verb “perfuser” meaning to “pour […]
- Getting Blood To The Body ()
How the Heart Works The heart is an organ, about the size of a fist. It is made of muscle and pumps blood through the body. Blood is carried through the body in blood vessels, or tubes, called arteries and veins. The process of moving blood through the body is called circulation. Together, the heart and vessels make up […]
- The Cardiac Cycle ()
The period of time that begins with contraction of the atria and ends with ventricular relaxation is known as the cardiac cycle. The period of contraction that the heart undergoes while it pumps blood into circulation is called systole. The period of relaxation that occurs as the chambers fill with blood is called diastole. Both the atria and […]
- Drugs For Chest Pain ()
Aspirin (ASA) Current guidelines recommend that people with coronary artery disease (CAD) receive antiplatelet therapy with either aspirin or Clopidogrel (Plavix). Aspirin therapy is very helpful for people with CAD or a history of stroke. If the patient has been diagnosed with CAD, their health care provider may recommend that a daily dose (from 75 to 162 mg) […]
- The Mammalian Dive Reflex ()
The diving reflex, also known as the diving response and mammalian diving reflex, is a set of physiological responses to immersion that overrides the basic homeostatic reflexes, and is found in all air-breathing vertebrates studied to date. It optimizes respiration by preferentially distributing oxygen stores to the heart and brain, enabling submersion for an extended […]
- Suicide ()
“You can go with us, or you can go with them…” Assisting a patient committing suicide is a crime in Georgia, but actually committing suicide is not. Sometimes, in an effort to resolve the situation, the police might be tempted to give the patient an ultimatum, “Go with them or come with us.” There is […]
- Psychiatric ()
Behavior is the way in which someone conducts oneself or behaves. A psychiatric disorder or mental disorders (or mental illnesses) are conditions that affect thinking, feeling, mood, and behavior. They may be occasional or long-lasting (chronic). A behavioral emergency is defined as a situation in which a patient presents as being at imminent risk of behaving […]
- Hyperglycemia ()
Clinically, hyperglycemia is blood glucose greater than 125 mg/dL while fasting and greater than 180 mg/dL 2 hours after eating. A patient has impaired glucose tolerance, or pre-diabetes, with a fasting plasma glucose of 100 mg/dL to 125 mg/dL. When hyperglycemia is left untreated, it can lead to many serious life-threatening complications that include damage […]
- Diabetic Medications ()
What is diabetes? Diabetes is a disease in which blood glucose, or blood sugar, levels are too high. Glucose comes from the foods you eat. The cells of the body need glucose for energy. A hormone called insulin helps the glucose get into cells. With type 1 diabetes, the body does not make insulin. With type 2 diabetes, the […]