Cardiac Arrest: Causes and Prevention

Question 1

What is cardiac arrest?

Answer 1

Effective cessation of the heart. Slide 3

Question 2

How do you recognise cardiac arrest?

Answer 2

Unresponsive
Not breathing normally
No pulse. Slide 4

Question 3

What is the chain of survival?

Answer 3

Early recognition
Early CPR
Early defibrillation
Post resuscitation care. Slide 13

Question 4

What are causes of cardiorespiratory arrest?

Answer 4

Airway
Breathing
Circulation
Slilde 17

Question 5

What factors can we affect that improves oxygen delivery?

Answer 5

SaO2
Hb levels
Heart rate
Blood pressure
-preload, contractility, afterload. Slide 18

Question 6

What does the ABCDE algorithm stand for?

Answer 6

Airway
Breathing
Circulation
Disabilty
Exposure. Slide 19

Question 7

How is SaO2 clinically assessed?

Answer 7

Pulse oximetry, arterial blood gas Slide 23

Question 8

How can Hb levels be clincially assessed?

Answer 8

Full blood count or by bedside. Slide 23

Question 9

What are possible obstructions to cause breathing problems?

Answer 9

Tongue
Lumen blocked by foreign body or aspirations
Swelling
Muscle. Slide 25

Question 10

What are causes of breathing problems in cardiac arrest?

Answer 10

Decreased respiratory drive
Decresed respiratory effort - muscle weakness
Lung disorders - pneumothorax. Slide 28

Question 11

What are possible causes for circulatory problems and what is the difference between primary and secondary causes?

Answer 11

The difference between primary and secondary is that secondary is due to another factor outside the heart that causes tissue to not have enough access to O2
Acute coronary syndromes
Hypertensive heart disease
Drugs

Asphyxia
Blood loss
hypothermia. Slide 32