What do you do with pulseless electrical activity?
Treatment / Management The first step in managing pulseless electrical activity is to begin chest compressions according to the advanced cardiac life support (ACLS) protocol followed by administrating epinephrine every 3 to 5 minutes, while simultaneously looking for any reversible causes.
What is ventricular pulseless electrical activity?
Pulseless electrical activity (PEA) is defined as organized ECG activity, excluding ventricular tachycardia and fibrillation, without clinical evidence of a palpable pulse or myocardial contractions.
What are the characteristics of pulseless electrical activity?
Pulseless electrical activity (PEA) is a clinical condition characterized by unresponsiveness and the lack of a palpable pulse in the presence of organized cardiac electrical activity. Pulseless electrical activity has previously been referred to as electromechanical dissociation (EMD).
What drug do you give for pulseless electrical activity?
Epinephrine should be administered in 1-mg doses intravenously/intraosseously (IV/IO) every 3-5 minutes during pulseless electrical activity (PEA) arrest. Higher doses of epinephrine have been studied and show no improvement in survival or neurologic outcomes in most patients.
What happens during PEA?
Pulseless electrical activity (PEA) occurs when a major cardiovascular, respiratory, or metabolic derangement results in the inability of cardiac muscle to generate sufficient force in response to electrical depolarization.
What drugs is used in PEA?
The mainstay of drug therapy for PEA is epinephrine (adrenaline) 1 mg every 3–5 minutes. Although previously the use of atropine was recommended in the treatment of PEA/asystole, this recommendation was withdrawn in 2010 by the American Heart Association due to lack of evidence for therapeutic benefit.
What are shockable rhythms in the pulseless patient?
The two shockable rhythms are ventricular fibrillation (VF) and pulseless ventricular tachycardia (VT) while the non–shockable rhythms include sinus rhythm (SR), supraventricular tachycardia (SVT), premature ventricualr contraction (PVC), atrial fibrilation (AF) and so on.
What’s the difference between asystole and pulseless electrical activity?
Pulseless electrical activity (PEA) and asystole are related cardiac rhythms in that they are both life-threatening and unshockable cardiac rhythms. Asystole is a flat-line ECG (Figure 27). There may be a subtle movement away from baseline (drifting flat-line), but there is no perceptible cardiac electrical activity.
How is pulseless electrical activity treated in PAE?
Pulseless electrical activity follows somewhat similar treatment protocol as that of asystole. Patient is given a shock in order to reset the rhythm of the heart; however in PAE the electrical stimuli conduction in heart is not a problem. First thing first, CPR must be done for 2 or more minutes, after which pulse and rhythm should be checked.
What is the medical term for pulseless electrical activity?
Pulseless electrical activity (PEA), also known as electromechanical dissociation, is a clinical condition characterized by unresponsiveness and impalpable pulse in the presence of sufficient electrical discharge. A lack of ventricular impulse often points to the absence of ventricular contraction, but the contrary is not always true.
Can a cardiac arrest cause pulseless electrical activity?
Pulseless electrical activity is the first documented rhythm in 30 to 38% of adults with in-hospital cardiac arrest. Beta-blockers and calcium channel blockers may alter contractility, leading to increased susceptibility and resistance to treatment.[10]