First aid for heart failure

The heart is the main organ in the body, it performs the most important function in human life, some call it the "motor", without which the body can not do. It is very important to know what you can do if a person has a heart condition, how to properly and timely help him without harming him.

Description and function of the heart

There are various reasons why cardiac arrest can occur. Let us consider in more detail what constitutes such an important organ.

The heart is a fibro-muscular organ that provides blood flow in the vessels with the help of contractions in a certain rhythm. The heart is the main organ in the human circulatory system, it is constantly under intense stress. The organ distills up to 10 thousand liters of blood in one day, which is about 2.5-3 million liters per year.

Such loads require special attention to a person’s own heart. It is necessary to avoid excessive stress on the heart, to strengthen the heart muscle and the body as a whole.

What negatively affects the heart?

There are a number of factors that adversely affect the work of the heart, namely:

1. Anxious, poor sleep, or insomnia.
2. Foods rich in fats and calories.
3. Sedentary work.
4. Stress. Statistics show that this particular factor often leads to heart attacks. Many are too emotional and deeply perceive the situations that occur in their lives.
5. Bad habits, including smoking, excessive drinking, etc.
6. Overweight. In this case, a person often suffers from increased pressure in the arteries, cardiac ischemia, and high levels of cholesterol in the blood.

Consider the main causes of cardiac arrest.

Causes

Otherwise, cardiac arrest is called clinical death. The condition occurs suddenly, it can cause a number of reasons. The most common prerequisites for this may be:

1. Severe electrical or just injury.
2. Myocardial infarction.
3. Intoxication of the body.
4. Severe heart failure.
5. Coronary spasm.

There are many reasons for heart failure.

Key features

To determine clinical death and provide first aid to a person, it is necessary to understand the main signs of cardiac arrest, including:

1. Sharp pallor of the skin and fainting.
2. Sharp and convulsive breaths or complete lack of breathing.
3. Complete absence of pulse on large vessels of the neck, for example, in the carotid artery.
4. The lack of reaction of the pupils to light, their significant expansion.

If symptoms indicate cardiac arrest, you should immediately call an ambulance team, describing in detail the condition of the person, signs and potential reasons why this happened. In anticipation of the medical team, you need to independently help the person. The main thing in this case is to follow all safety rules so as not to accidentally harm a person.

Don't panic

It is important not to panic and try to start your heart as quickly as possible before the arrival of specialists. To this end, artificial respiration is done in combination with indirect heart massage. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation should be avoided if the vital functions of the person are normal, but the victim is unconscious.

Also prohibited is the resuscitation of a person whose chest is damaged or his ribs are broken. Such actions can aggravate internal bleeding.

Artificial respiration

A significant role in resuscitation of a person with cardiac arrest is played by properly performed artificial respiration or ventilation. In this case, remember the following rules and sequence of actions:

1. First you need to clean the mouth and nose of the affected person from vomit, blood clots and other substances, thereby freeing the airways.
2. If the jaws of the victim during heart failure and breathing are tightly compressed, they must be opened using any flat object. You can also push the lower jaw forward with your thumbs.
3. If, for any reason, artificial respiration is performed through the nose, then you need to tightly squeeze the mouth of the victim. During resuscitation, nasal passages are clamped through the mouth.
4. In some cases, preparatory measures are enough to restore breathing in its natural form. If this does not happen, it is necessary to do 2 inhalations of air with a pause of 15 pushes of indirect massage. You need to do this quickly to meet 4 cycles in one minute. If resuscitation with signs of cardiac arrest is carried out alone, then two entrances are made after every 10 tremors conducted with a pause of one second.
5. To avoid infection through saliva, artificial respiration should be done through gauze or a scarf.
6. The correctness of performing artificial respiration can be determined by the movements of the chest. If, during inhalation, it is not the chest that expands, but the abdomen is inflated, then the air will bypass the lungs. It is necessary to remove air from the stomach by pressing on the space between the navel and sternum, after which vomiting can occur. At the same time, the victim must be turned to one side so that he does not choke on the vomit.
   

What is important to know?

First aid for heart failure is very important. Resuscitation is carried out until a person has a pulse. It is necessary to check the presence of a pulse by the carotid artery, every 2-4 seconds at the moment when air is inhaled. Any actions with the victim must be performed carefully, you can not put much pressure on the chest, otherwise there is a risk of a fracture. This is due to the fact that during cardiac arrest, muscle tone decreases and the chest becomes abnormally mobile, which increases the likelihood of a fracture.

After a person begins to breathe, it is necessary to continue resuscitation for some time, blowing in air simultaneously with the independent inhalation of the victim. Prior to the arrival of doctors or until the restoration of independent deep breathing, resuscitation should not be stopped.

Indirect cardiac massage

There are a number of rules for preparing for indirect massage of the heart muscle, which must be strictly observed:

1. A person needs to be laid face up on a solid, high surface. It can be a table, floor, bench or asphalt. The head should be thrown back slightly, putting any object under the shoulders. This is to prevent tongue retention.
2. If a person has tight clothing, it must be removed. It is necessary to free the victim as much as possible from things that can squeeze the neck or chest.
3. For indirect massage of the heart muscle, you need to stand on the side of the victim. If he lies on the ground, then you need to kneel.
4. Hands are placed on the lower part of the sternum. You can not bend your hands, they must remain straight. In this case, the palms should lie on one another.

Next, resuscitation begins in the form of small shocks at equal intervals.

First aid for cardiac arrest should be provided in a timely manner, otherwise death will occur.

rules

In the execution technique, there are also a number of rules that should be remembered:

1. In the palm of the hand, the area to be massage is determined. As a rule, this is the base of the palm, which is due to the ability to bend it for more intense pressing. When properly pressed, the chest compresses by 5-6 cm towards the vertebra, if the sternum is wide, and by 3-4 if it is narrow. Helping with cardiac arrest should be carried out correctly.
2. After each push, you need to hold your hand for a quarter of a second, and then allow the chest to straighten, without taking your hands away.
3. The rate at which it is pressed should resemble a heart rate and be approximately 60 beats per minute.
4. Movements with indirect heart massage should be intense, but not rough.
5. If possible, then change with other people, as the massage should not be interrupted and lose intensity. Such a pace quickly tires.
6. You can increase the flow of venous blood to the heart by raising a little the victim’s legs. In addition, you can raise your hands above the sternum.

Common mistakes

The most common mistakes that are made during resuscitation of a person with signs of cardiac arrest include the following:

1. The implementation of resuscitation on a soft surface. If we are talking about young children, then you need to find a table for an indirect heart massage.
2. Panic and loss of precious time before starting resuscitation measures. You can not give in to panic, you need to act calmly and reasonably approach every step.
3. Insufficient pressure and tremors during indirect heart massage. It will not be possible to restore blood circulation if there is no corresponding pressure on the chest.
4. If resuscitation is successful, it is important not to aggravate a person’s condition. He should not be given food and drink, as well as medicine until the doctors arrive.
5. You can not leave a person unattended, it is necessary to control his condition, even if he is much better and breathing is restored.

Heart failure medical assistance

Ambulance doctors use special methods. The main task is to restore the patient's breathing. To do this, use ventilation mask. If this method is unsuccessful or impossible to apply, then the trachea is intubated. This method is most effective in ensuring airway patency. However, only a specialist can install the tube in the trachea.

In order to start the heart, doctors use a defibrillator - a device that affects the heart muscle with an electric current.

Special medicines are also often used:

• With asystole, atropine is used.
• Epinephrine (adrenaline) is needed to enhance and increase heart rate.
• With a prolonged stop, sodium bicarbonate is used (with acidosis or hyperkalemia).
• Antiarrhythmic drugs - lidocaine, bretilia tosylate, amiodarone.
• With the help of magnesium sulfate, heart cells are stabilized and their excitation is stimulated.
• With hyperkalemia, calcium is used.

Prevention

We must not forget that our heart is the motor of the body, without which no system can work. It is important to keep an eye on the heart so that it will serve us all our life. To do this, you can take some preventive measures to strengthen the heart muscle:

1. Exercise regularly, while avoiding excessive stress.
2. Establish sleep and rest. It is in a dream that the load on the heart is minimal.
3. Create the prerequisites for the release of adrenaline, do what you like and make you happy.
4. Regular examinations by a cardiologist. It is also important to donate blood every six months to check the amount of cholesterol.
5. Check your blood pressure regularly, as its sharp jumps can provoke a malfunction in the heart.

We looked at what help with heart failure is.