Serious Cardiac Events.

Aims and Objectives.  Review physical situations underpinning serious cardiac abnormalities.  Understand related complications.  Understand common ECG appearances.  Review important actions to undertake in these situations.

Acute MI.

Actions.  How the patient present?  What difficulties might you have getting ECG?  What would you do?  What treatment / what would happen next?  WHAT COULD HAPPEN NEXT?

Possibly this?

What would you do?

Or possibly this?

What would you do?

Could this happen?

What would you do?

This may be possible:

Caution??  Is it really?  Check leads.  Check patient.

Usually looks more like this:  Not completely flat baseline.  Stop CPR to re-check rhythm.  Poor prognosis.

Sometimes patients feel poorly.

Tips.  Learn to recognise basic rhythms.  Learn morphology of acute MI.  Understand process of ischemia.  Treat patient - NOT ECG.  Know when you need help.  Better to get help than to miss something important – always ASK if unsure.

Conclusion.  Most common emergencies: –Acute MI. –Rhythm abnormalities:  VF  VT  CHB  Fast AF, flutter, AV nodal tachy, WPW etc  Asystole  Severe bradycardia.