Tag: cardiology
- 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 […]
- AED Specifics ()
Adult defibrillators are recommended after 2 to 4 minutes of consistent CPR. If blood flow has not been established with consistent chest compressions, the heart chambers will not have any blood. When the defibrillation takes place and converts the patients electrical rhythm to a viable rhythm, no blood flow will result. Without consistent chest compressions, […]
- Defibrillation ()
Cardiac defibrillation is the act of administering a transthoracic electrical current to a person experiencing one of the two lethal ventricular dysrhythmias, ventricular fibrillation (VF) or pulseless ventricular tachycardia (VT). Under Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) guidelines, pulseless VT and VF are treated the same. Heart disease remains the number one cause of death in […]
- Automated External Defibrillator ()
An automated external defibrillator (AED) is a portable electronic device that automatically diagnoses the life-threatening cardiac arrhythmias of ventricular fibrillation (VF) and pulseless ventricular tachycardia, and is able to treat them through defibrillation, the application of electricity which stops the arrhythmia, allowing the heart to re-establish an effective rhythm. With simple audio and visual commands, […]
- This Is Why Your Chest Compressions Suck ()
You don’t know where to put your hands When a chest compression is performed, the weight of the chest compression is placed on the palm. The palm should be placed on the lower half of the patient’s sternum. The sternum or breastplate is the bone that connects the ribs on anterior portion of the patient’s […]
- The Problem With Blood Clots ()
What are blood clots? Your body’s arteries and veins are a superhighway system designed to transport oxygen-rich blood from your heart to the rest of your body. They then carry oxygen-depleted blood back from your body to your heart. Normally, this system runs smoothly, but sometimes you can develop a bottleneck called a blood clot. […]
- The Cerebral Vascular System ()
The brain is one of the most highly perfused organs in the body. It is therefore not surprising that the arterial blood supply to the human brain consists of two pairs of large arteries, the right and left internal carotid and the right and left vertebral arteries. The internal carotid arteries principally supply the cerebrum, […]
- No Signs Of Circulation ()
Signs of circulation are any movement that would indicate the patient is alive Imagine a patient sitting in a chair awaiting the arrival of the ambulance crew. The patient see the medics come through the doorway. The patient can’t help but think help has arrived. The medics look at the same patient and say to […]
- Physiology of Respiration ()
Pulmonary ventilation refers to the movement of air in and out of the lungs Ventilation is defined as the movement of air in and out of the lungs. Patient with adequate ventilation are moving normal or near normal volumes of air into and out of the lungs. The pulmonary capillary beds are where oxygen is […]
- Blood Pressure ()
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). […]