The heart serves a vital function in the human body. Did you know that your heart beats more than two billion times in one’s lifetime? Any defects to the heart would thus mean death if not handled properly and in the shortest time possible. Heart attacks and cardiac arrests are among the most common heart killer diseases. Any delay would mean slow recovery if not death at the moment. Enroll online and get CPR certification and find out different first aid techniques for helping attack victims. Find out below how to identify and act accordingly when a cardiac arrest happens to someone near you.
Cardiac Arrest
Cardiac arrests are more dangerous than heart attacks. With cardiac arrest, the heart halts all of its functions including the supply of oxygenated blood around the body. This goes without saying that death could be impending for the victim should help be delayed. The human brain approximately begins dying after 8 minutes of lacking enough oxygenated blood. The minute the brain shuts down the body begins to experience shock and ultimately death. The big sign of cardiac arrest is unconsciousness and lack of breathing, this is why you need to get CPR certification.
Here’s What You Can Do
Dial or have someone around the scene dial an emergency contact requesting immediate medical assistance. You can then do CPR to the victim if you are unable to access Automatic External Defibrillator. The AED is medical equipment located in public areas like bus stops, malls, and even schools to help cardiac arrest victims. Do 30 reasonable compressions to the victim’s chest at regular intervals. Do this until they either regain consciousness or medical assistance arrives. Should you find a defibrillator, read the manual on it and follow the procedure indicated to save the life of the victim. To learn how to use AED and other first aid techniques, you need to enroll for first aid and CPR course. However, here are some basics you need to know.
How to Use AEDs?
When a cardiac arrest happens, your first call should be to alert the authorities for more advanced medical assistance. Just like all machines, Automatic External Defibrillators do exist in different models but at least have a few similarities. Turn on your AED first and then wipe the victim’s chest clean to help the pads stick better during the analysis. Place the AED pads on the upper right and upper left sides of the victim’s chest. After ensuring they stick perfectly, connect the AED and the connector to start the analysis.
The machine can then determine the gravity of the cardiac arrest and recommend shock if necessary. This shock’s sole intention is to correct the electric impulse of the heart muscles and try to spark a beating. Should the shock option be recommended, keep people away from the victim and press the shock button after which impulses will be sent to the heart. If this proves ineffective alternate it with cardiopulmonary resuscitation and keep repeating until you get a pulse or the medical team arrives at the scene.
Special Cases
There are factors you need to consider before doing your resuscitation program. Never use the AED around watery areas or more so on people wearing jewelry or other ornaments like piercings. You can always refer to the manufacturer’s manual or instructions that normally accompanies the gadget. These instructions are aimed at guiding the non-professionals through the resuscitation program.
You should also avoid touching the victim when the AED is analyzing the gravity of the attack. Touching the victim during this process can be detrimental as the gadget may get false readings and give an excessive or low shock. This may jeopardize the chances of the victim surviving the attack.
Like any other machine, AEDs need to be properly maintained and checked every once in a while. It can be unfortunate to use a faulty gadget and risk losing the life of the victim you are trying to save. The system’s self-testing feature should help you determine if the gadget is fully functional or somehow faulty.
In conclusion, cardiac arrest happens to cause a stoppage to the heart’s functions which poses a grave threat to the entire body. Normally there occurs an abnormal electrical malfunction in the heart’s muscles which can explain the pain most victims go through. Automatic External Defibrillators were made specifically to help with such emergency cases in the absence of a doctor. Update your first aid skills and knowledge of AEDs today by enrolling online first aid classes to keep up the skills.
There are greater chances of survival of cardiac arrest victims globally if medical assistance is to be issued immediately after the attack. With people registering for online CPR and first aid classes, awareness could increase and that may reduce the number of deaths the country experiences annually from these deadly conditions.
