Comment on Risks of CPR
Dazza@lemmy.world 6 months ago
If your doing chest compressions to save someone who has stopped breathing there roughly a 10% chance they will survive but a 0% chance if you don’t So it’s often worth it anyway.
However it does keep the blood flowing and can prevent brain damage until a defibrillator is available which has a much higher chance of saving someone who has stopped breathing.
ABCDE@lemmy.world 6 months ago
Doesn’t the defib stabilise the heartbeat rather than getting it going again?
Dazza@lemmy.world 6 months ago
Yes if the heart has flatlined completely then it won’t be started again by AED. But if they are in cardiac arrest then the heart rate is erratic and can be returned to normal with a defibrillator.
Labonnie@feddit.de 6 months ago
Someone can be in cardiac arrest and have an asystoly or PEA. In fact, whenever someone has an asystoly or PEA they are in cardiac arrest.
notapantsday@feddit.de 6 months ago
Yes, a heart that has completely stopped beating cannot be restarted by defibrillation. It only works in a condition called ventricular fibrillation, when the muscle fibers of the heart are still contracting, but are no longer “in sync”. This causes the heart to twitch chaotically, which is not an effective way to pump blood. And without blood pumping, the heart itself does not receive any oxygen as well, so it will eventually go into a complete flatline after a few minutes of untreated ventricular fibrillation.
The electric shock helps the fibers resynchronize. If you want to see the effect directly, here’s a video:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCbawp9ZSnY
Be warned, it shows an open chest and an exposed heart, most likely during heart surgery. They are using spoon-shaped internal defibrillation paddles. In the beginning, you can see the heart in ventricular fibrillation. It’s twitching chaotically and not pumping any blood. After defibrillation, it starts contracting rhythmically again.
rikudou@lemmings.world 6 months ago
Yes. Defibrillator is useless if you’ve stopped breathing.
Vendetta9076@sh.itjust.works 6 months ago
No, its useless if their heart has stopped. Two different things.
dylanTheDeveloper@lemmy.world 6 months ago
Defibrillators are useless when your dead
rikudou@lemmings.world 6 months ago
Fixed.
Labonnie@feddit.de 6 months ago
That’s incorrect.
Someone might be not breathing for a number of reasons. Most likely however, when you find them unconscious & not breathing on the street it’s for cardiac reasons. And then a defibrillator is the one best treatment for that (if the heart has a shockable rhythm that is).