It’s right, there has to be an electric activity for an electrical shock (a defibrillator) to work. But please do continue CPR with a flatline. It’s harder, but there is a chance that emergency response staff can restart the heart with the right medication, but only if you didn’t pause the circulation.
Sometimes you see in movies how someone is restarting the heart with a hit to the chest.
Dont try this. Chances are you cause more damage than good.
It is is a real maneuver called Precordial thump, but is only effective when you see the arrhythmia on the monitor and do it the very second of it happening. Outside of an ICU or monitored environment its not useful and can be quite harmful.
If a movie wants to be extra dramatic, there is the is the big ass adrenalin syringe right into the heart. Pulp fiction is one example. This is something that makes sense, when you watch a movie set in the 1950’s or so. But it’s not a practice anymore, because it causes more damage than do good. It’s also nothing a normal person could do at home, because chances are nearly zero for you to hit the right spot. The heart is a fragile thing, you can’t just stab it randomly.
Precordial thumps getting dropped from the EMS scope made me sad (paramedic here). They have a lot of utility, especially for us because we’re pretty much on top of the patient the whole ride, so we’re generally going to notice when they code. The problem is that it’s a lack of training. Most people weren’t even asked to practice the technique, you just read about it and got a slap on the ass on the way out the door. I mean, can you imagine teaching CPR or intubation that way? It’d be a fucking disaster. Little wonder people were doing it wrong and causing harm.
Imo, too often the medical field’s answer to “people are doing this wrong” is “fuck it, we’re taking it away”, when it should be “do more (effective) training”.
For some reason it never occurred to me that chest compressions were actually to help pump blood. I guess I assumed it was just some magic that might start a heart up again.
The compressions are essential to make sure there is blood and therefore oxygen getting to the brain. Without it the brain is dead after a few minutes. Even if the heart restarts then, the patient is brain damaged.
I’m glad you know now. Maybe you’ll save someone’s life with that knowledge now.
I want to add to #1
It’s right, there has to be an electric activity for an electrical shock (a defibrillator) to work. But please do continue CPR with a flatline. It’s harder, but there is a chance that emergency response staff can restart the heart with the right medication, but only if you didn’t pause the circulation.
Sometimes you see in movies how someone is restarting the heart with a hit to the chest. Dont try this. Chances are you cause more damage than good. It is is a real maneuver called Precordial thump, but is only effective when you see the arrhythmia on the monitor and do it the very second of it happening. Outside of an ICU or monitored environment its not useful and can be quite harmful.
If a movie wants to be extra dramatic, there is the is the big ass adrenalin syringe right into the heart. Pulp fiction is one example. This is something that makes sense, when you watch a movie set in the 1950’s or so. But it’s not a practice anymore, because it causes more damage than do good. It’s also nothing a normal person could do at home, because chances are nearly zero for you to hit the right spot. The heart is a fragile thing, you can’t just stab it randomly.
Source: nurse am I.
Precordial thumps getting dropped from the EMS scope made me sad (paramedic here). They have a lot of utility, especially for us because we’re pretty much on top of the patient the whole ride, so we’re generally going to notice when they code. The problem is that it’s a lack of training. Most people weren’t even asked to practice the technique, you just read about it and got a slap on the ass on the way out the door. I mean, can you imagine teaching CPR or intubation that way? It’d be a fucking disaster. Little wonder people were doing it wrong and causing harm.
Imo, too often the medical field’s answer to “people are doing this wrong” is “fuck it, we’re taking it away”, when it should be “do more (effective) training”.
For some reason it never occurred to me that chest compressions were actually to help pump blood. I guess I assumed it was just some magic that might start a heart up again.
The compressions are essential to make sure there is blood and therefore oxygen getting to the brain. Without it the brain is dead after a few minutes. Even if the heart restarts then, the patient is brain damaged.
I’m glad you know now. Maybe you’ll save someone’s life with that knowledge now.