Sudden Cardiac Arrest...A must read!

Don't be Afraid! Go ahead and Read...

SUDDEN cardiac arrest is frequently caused in adults by a fibrillating earth (i.e. the heart beating
in a disorganised manner and hence quivering like a bag of worms rather than in a regular and co-ordinated manner).
The heart is the pump of life. It pumps blood across our body. It carries oxygen from the lungs to the rest of the body  particularly the brain. It also receives blood from which oxygen has been extracted by the tissues and sends this to the lungs to be replenished with oxygen. Thus a malfunctioning, quivering heart is a present and immediate danger to life. This is usually manifested with collapse and unresponsiveness and loss of pulse in the central (big) arteries.
As a member of the public, you can help in keeping someone, who has gone into cardiac arrest alive until the appropriately trained personnel (pre-hospital emergency medical service or the Hospital Emergency Medical services) are available, through the following steps.

i) If you notice anyone suddenly collapse, quickly check for the environment for safety e.g. ensure there are no fallen electric wires or that the person has not just being shot. Don’t make two patients of one.
ii) Check for responsiveness by shaking the person and calling out to him/her.
iii) If no response, call for help by shouting to passers-by to help you.
iv) Call the emergency number (e.g. 767 in Lagos State) or ask someone nearby to make the call.
v) Lay the person on the floor or any hard surface. Expose the chest. Interlock your fingers, Put your hand in the centre of the patient’s chest and press as hard and as fast as you can.
vi) Remember this is hard work; ask others to help you if you are tiring. Direct them on what to do.
vii) Ask someone in the inevitable crowd that will gather to keep enquiring for the presence of a doctor or allied health professional.
viii) Keep compressing the heart as hard and as fast until help arrives.
ix) If help in the form of an ambulance is not likely to arrive( absence of Pre Hospital Emergency Medical Service), ask someone to stop an open top truck e.g. pick-up truck, get 2-3 people in the flat bed back of the truck and drive to the nearest government hospital while continuing the compression.
In summary, if you see anyone that collapses, remember your 3 Cs:

CHECK-for responsiveness.
CALL: Ambulance or any other emergency service available.
COMPRESS: Press as hard and as fast in the centre of the chest as you can.

Be a hero, be compassionate. Save a life. Do not be afraid.  Sudden Cardiac Arrest can happen to anyone, anytime and at any location.

-Dr. Segun Owonikoko, is CEO/Clinical Director, Kephalus Health Nigeria: Emergency medical services experts. kephalushealth@gmail.com

This is for you Fabirice;
We pray for you Fabrice Muamba! Get well Soon!