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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 core algorithm of ALS that is invoked when cardiac arrest has been confirmed, Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS), relies on the monitoring of the electrical activity of the heart on a cardiac monitor. Depending on the type of cardiac arrhythmia, defibrillation and/or medication may be administered.
Ventricular tachycardia may lead to coma and persistent vegetative state due to lack of blood and oxygen to the brain. Ventricular tachycardia may result in ventricular fibrillation (VF) and turn into cardiac arrest. [2] [3] This conversion of the VT into VF is called the degeneration of the VT. It is found initially in about 7% of people in ...
Defibrillation is a treatment for life-threatening cardiac arrhythmias, specifically ventricular fibrillation (V-Fib) and non-perfusing ventricular tachycardia (V-Tach). [1] [2] A defibrillator delivers a dose of electric current (often called a counter-shock) to the heart.
Ventricular fibrillation and pulseless or sustained ventricular tachycardia are the most commonly recorded arrhythmias preceding cardiac arrest. These are rapid and erratic arrhythmias that alter the circulatory pathway such that adequate blood flow cannot be sustained and is inadequate to meet the body's needs.
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]
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.
Ventricular fibrillation (V-fib or VF) is an abnormal heart rhythm in which the ventricles of the heart quiver. [2] It is due to disorganized electrical activity. [2] Ventricular fibrillation results in cardiac arrest with loss of consciousness and no pulse. [1] This is followed by sudden cardiac death in the absence of treatment. [2]