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Advanced cardiac life support, advanced cardiovascular life support (ACLS) refers to a set of clinical guidelines established by the American Heart Association (AHA) for the urgent and emergent treatment of life-threatening cardiovascular conditions that will cause or have caused cardiac arrest, using advanced medical procedures, medications, and techniques.
The 4 main cardiac arrest rhythms are ventricular fibrillation (VF), pulseless ventricular tachycardia (pVT), asystole, and pulseless electrical activity (PEA). Ventricular tachycardia. ventricular fibrillation (VF): disorganized and rapid quivering of the ventricles; pulseless ventricular tachycardia (pVT): organized wide QRS complexes with no ...
Defibrillation is indicated only in certain types of cardiac dysrhythmias, specifically ventricular fibrillation (VF) and pulseless ventricular tachycardia. [1] [2] If the heart has completely stopped, as in asystole or pulseless electrical activity (PEA), defibrillation is not indicated. Defibrillation is also not indicated if the patient is ...
The two "shockable" rhythms are ventricular fibrillation and pulseless ventricular tachycardia, while the two "non-shockable" rhythms are asystole and pulseless electrical activity. [65] Moreover, in the post-resuscitation patient, a 12-lead EKG can help identify some causes of cardiac arrest, such as STEMI which may require specific treatments.
Most adults who can be saved from cardiac arrest are in ventricular fibrillation or pulseless ventricular tachycardia, which means their heart has fallen out of rhythm. [14] Early defibrillation is the link in the chain most likely to improve survival since defibrillation can help shock the heart back into a regular beat. [15]
Defibrillation is effective only for certain heart rhythms, namely ventricular fibrillation or pulseless ventricular tachycardia, rather than asystole or pulseless electrical activity, which usually requires the treatment of underlying conditions to restore cardiac function. Early shock, when appropriate, is recommended.
However, if a patient is confirmed to be in pulseless ventricular tachycardia "v-tach" or ventricular fibrillation "v-fib", then a shock is delivered immediately upon connection of the pads. In this application, electrical cardioversion is more properly termed defibrillation .
Precordial thump is a medical procedure used in the treatment of ventricular fibrillation or pulseless ventricular tachycardia under certain conditions. The procedure has a very low success rate, but may be used in those with witnessed, monitored onset of one of the "shockable" cardiac rhythms if a defibrillator is not immediately available.