Cardiac Arrest
Study suggests new role for ECMO in treating patients with cardiac arrest and profound shock
Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), a procedure traditionally used during cardiac surgeries and in the ICU that functions as an artificial replacement for a patient's heart and lungs, has also been used to resuscitate ...
Cardiology
May 17, 2013 |
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Research identifies infection and sepsis-related mortality hotspots across the US
In the past, researchers have sought to determine the geographic distribution of many life-threatening conditions, including stroke and cardiac arrest. Now, researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine ...
Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes
May 15, 2013 |
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Medical myth: Flatlining patients can be shocked back to life
Beep….beep……….beep……….beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep. "We're losing him. Out of my way, nurse!" The quick-thinking young doctor charges the defibrillator paddles and places them on the chest of ...
Cardiology
May 14, 2013 |
5 / 5 (1) |
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Cardiac arrest, (also known as cardiopulmonary arrest or circulatory arrest) is the cessation of normal circulation of the blood due to failure of the heart to contract effectively. Medical personnel can refer to an unexpected cardiac arrest as a sudden cardiac arrest or SCA.
A cardiac arrest is different from (but may be caused by) a heart attack, where blood flow to the muscle of the heart is impaired.
Arrested blood circulation prevents delivery of oxygen to the body. Lack of oxygen to the brain causes loss of consciousness, which then results in abnormal or absent breathing. Brain injury is likely if cardiac arrest goes untreated for more than five minutes. For the best chance of survival and neurological recovery, immediate and decisive treatment is imperative.
Cardiac arrest is a medical emergency that, in certain situations, is potentially reversible if treated early. When unexpected cardiac arrest leads to death this is called sudden cardiac death (SCD). The treatment for cardiac arrest is cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) to provide circulatory support, followed by defibrillation if a shockable rhythm is present. If a shockable rhythm is not present after CPR and other interventions, clinical death is inevitable.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
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