Published in AEMT. Tags: pathophysiology, physiology, shock and resuscitation.
When perfusion is inadequate, cells in the body’s various tissues are in jeopardy. Kill enough cells, tissue dies. Enough tissue dies, an organ dies. Enough organs die, the patient dies. Hypotension creates an environment where the cells are starved of glucose and oxygen which denies them the ability to produce ATP (adenosine triphosphate). Without the […]
Published in AEMT. Tags: endocrine, physiology.
The body is dependent upon two processes to create energy at rest and during exercise, aerobic and anaerobic metabolism. Simplified, the aerobic metabolic system uses oxygen, while the anaerobic system does not; however, oxygen plays a vital role in allowing the body to function under both systems. Both the aerobic and anaerobic systems occur simultaneously; […]
Published in AEMT, EMT. Tags: blood vessels, cardiology, pathophysiology.
Blood pressure is a standard vital sign that the EMS crew will collect for nearly all patients. Generally speaking, EMS concerns about blood pressure tend to end with the systolic blood pressure. As a whole, the EMS community is not terribly concerned with hypertension (high blood pressure), but extremely concerned with hypotension (low blood pressure). […]
Published in AEMT, EMR, EMT. Tags: pathophysiology, respiratory.
A patient who is experiencing respiratory distress can develop respiratory compromise. It is the goal of the EMS crew to delay or reverse respiratory compromise. Failure reverse respiratory compromise will result in respiratory failure. Exactly when the patient transitions to respiratory compromise from respiratory distress is not entirely defined, however some changes in the function […]
Published in AEMT, EMT. Tags: blood vessels, pathophysiology.
Capillaries do not function independently. The capillary bed is an interwoven network of capillaries that supplies an organ. The more metabolically active the cells, the more capillaries required to supply nutrients and carry away waste products. A capillary bed can consist of two types of vessels: true capillaries, which branch mainly from arterioles and provide […]
Published in AEMT, EMT. Tags: cardiology, pathophysiology.
Maintaining blood pressure is a complicated challenge that is handled very effectively by regulatory processes orchestrated primarily by the autonomic nervous system. These regulatory processes must operate over time scales ranging from very quick responses to changes in posture (e.g., a decrease in blood pressure when standing up) to responses to slower changes in blood […]
Published in AEMT, EMT. Tags: cardiology, pathophysiology, shock and resuscitation.
Cardiogenic shock is a medical emergency resulting from inadequate blood flow due to the dysfunction of the ventricles of the heart. Signs of inadequate blood flow include low urine production (<30 mL/hour), cool arms and legs, and altered level of consciousness. People may also have a severely low blood pressure and heart rate. Causes of […]
Published in AEMT, EMT. Tags: cardiology, pathophysiology.
Cardiac output, expressed in liters/minute, is the amount of blood the heart pumps in 1 minute. Cardiac output is logically equal to the product of the stroke volume and the number of beats per minute (heart rate). Easy enough, one may think, but the term cardiac in cardiac output is potentially misleading – with clinician’s […]
Published in AEMT, EMT. Tags: blood, blood vessels, pathophysiology.
The capillary is the site of fluid exchange with the body’s tissues. This fluid transfer is moderated by two factors: hydrostatic pressure and osmotic pressure. Hydrostatic pressure is the “pushing” force on water due to the presence of more fluid in one region than another. In general, larger fluid volumes generate higher hydrostatic pressure. Osmotic […]
Published in AEMT, EMT. Tags: pathophysiology, respiratory.
Oxygen Transport Disturbances The oxygen-carrying capacity of hemoglobin determines how much oxygen is carried in the blood. Other environmental factors and diseases can affect oxygen carrying capacity and delivery. Carbon dioxide levels, blood pH, and body temperature affect oxygen-carrying capacity. When carbon dioxide is in the blood, it reacts with water to form bicarbonate and hydrogen ions. As […]