EMT Chapter 25-MCIT-F3-2206 | Cardiac Arrest: The Chicken Or The Egg:  This chapter discusses the knowledge and decision making skills required by Emergency Medical Technicians to identify and manage cardiac arrests in the context of both medical and traumatic cases. It starts on how to use examination to distinguish whether the arrest stemmed from a medical condition or resulted from injury. This chapter also explores medical emergencies that lead to trauma and injuries that precipitate   in cardiac arrests. 

The lessons covered are 

• Lesson 1: Chicken or the egg? Cardiac Arrest: Medical Vs. Trauma
• Lesson 2: When the Body Fails First: Medical Events Leading to Trauma
• Lesson 3: When Injury Causes Arrest:  Recognizing Traumatic Causes
• Lesson 4: Your Systematic Assessment Framework, and,
• Lesson 5: Real-World Scenarios & Practical Application

Excerpt from EMT Chapter 25-MCIT-F3-2206 | Cardiac Arrest: The Chicken Or The Egg 

Let’s start with the big one – acute myocardial infarction, or a heart attack. This is statistically the most common medical condition that causes someone to crash and go into cardiac arrest. And it makes sense when you think about the pathophysiology. A coronary artery gets blocked, part of the heart muscle stops getting oxygen, the heart starts beating irregularly, and suddenly the patient either loses consciousness or becomes so symptomatic that they can’t control the vehicle.

Here’s what typically happens: The patient is driving along and starts experiencing chest pain, maybe radiating to their arm or jaw. They might get short of breath, break out in a cold sweat – that’s the diaphoresis we talk about. Some patients actually grab their chest or try to pull over, but they don’t make it. The heart goes into a lethal rhythm like ventricular fibrillation or ventricular tachycardia, consciousness is lost almost immediately, and the crash follows seconds later.