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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.
Cardiac arrest is also identified by a lack of central pulses and abnormal or absent breathing. [1] Cardiac arrest and resultant hemodynamic collapse often occur due to arrhythmias (irregular heart rhythms). Ventricular fibrillation and ventricular tachycardia are most commonly recorded. [14]
According to the American Heart Association, out-of-hospital cardiac arrest can affect more than 300,000 people in the United States each year. [5] Three minutes after the onset of cardiac arrest, a lack of blood flow starts to damage the brain, and 10 minutes after, the chances of survival are low. [6]
The cardiac arrest is likely to be of primary cardiac or respiratory cause; The cardiac arrest was witnessed by a bystander or paramedic; Chest compressions were commenced within 10 minutes; The cardiac arrest duration (collapse to arrival at E&TC [ambiguous]) has been < 60 minutes; The patient is aged between 12 and 70 years
In infants and children, cardiac arrest is typically caused by (1) hypoxic/asphyxial arrest and less commonly by (2) sudden cardiac arrest due to heart problems or arrhythmias. In adults, cardiac arrest is usually caused by heart problems such as acute coronary syndrome. Hypoxic/asphyxial cardiac arrest is a result of progressive respiratory ...
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is an emergency procedure consisting of chest compressions often combined with artificial ventilation, or mouth-to-mouth in an effort to manually preserve intact brain function until further measures are taken to restore spontaneous blood circulation and breathing in a person who is in cardiac arrest.
The Lund University Cardiopulmonary Assist System (LUCAS) device provides mechanical chest compressions to patients in cardiac arrest. It is mostly used in emergency medicine as an alternative to manual CPR because it provides consistent compressions at a fixed rate through difficult transport conditions and eliminates the physical strain on ...