Cardiac Arrest ACLS

Cardiac arrest is the sudden loss of effective mechanical cardiac output. The monitor may show chaotic ventricular electrical activity, organized electrical activity without a pulse, or no meaningful electrical activity at all; none of these patterns provides tissue perfusion unless the heart is generating effective contractions. For a healthcare professional, suspect arrest when the patient is unresponsive and not breathing normally. Occasional gasping is agonal breathing, not evidence of adequate ventilation. Check for a central pulse for no more than 10 seconds. If a definite pulse is not felt, begin CPR rather than prolonging an uncertain examination. The arrest rhythm immediately divides the treatment pathway: - Ventricular fibrillation (VF) and pulseless ventricular tachycardia (pVT) are shockable. The ventricles are electrically disorganised or beating so rapidly that they cannot produce a useful stroke volume. Defibrillation is the intervention that can interrupt this electrical state. - Asystole and pulseless electrical activity (PEA) are nonshockable. Asystole has no organised ventricular electrical activity. PEA may display an organised rhythm, but the patient has no palpable pulse because electrical activity is not producing mechanical contraction....