Respiratory/Cardiogenic Emergencies

• Beta blockers lower heart rate
• Signs of hypoxia include high respiration rate and tachycardia
• Ventilation involves oxygen in and carbon dioxide out, it's the movement of air
• Respiration is the movement of gases
• Internal respiration is the exchange of CO2 in cells and oxygenated RBCs
• External respiration involves the movement of gases between alveoli and deoxygenated RBCs
• Pleural effusion is fluid building up in the pleural membrane between the chest cavity and lining of the lungs
• Chronic lung diseases like COPD and emphysema can cause respiratory distress
• Pneumothorax is a collapsed lung due to air in the pleural cavity, disrupting the negative pressure that adheres lungs to the chest cavity
• Causes of respiratory distress can include prolonged seizures, exposure to toxins, hyperventilation, inadequate breathing or ventilation, and abnormal respiration rate for their age group
• Hyperventilation leads to rapid breathing above the normal rate for the age group, causing dizziness, tingling in lips and hands, headache, weakness, and fainting
• Barrel-shaped chest, excess mucus in air passages are characteristics of COPD
• Pulmonary edema is fluid buildup in alveoli and lung tissue, hindering external respiration
• Hemoptysis is coughing up blood, while diaphoresis is sweating
• Lung sounds like "crackling" or "bubbling" indicate wet lung sounds, important for differentiating from asthma
• Pneumonia is an infection of alveoli, characterized by a productive cough and possibly a high fever
• Emphysema involves the dilation and disruption of alveoli, leading to decreased area for diffusion and a progressively destructive disease
• Pulmonary edema can be managed by oxygenation or ventilation, CPAP to force fluid back across the alveolar membrane, and immediate transport and ALS
• Asthma, anaphylaxis, and COPD require specific emergency medical care and management
• Emergency care for asthma includes administering high concentrations of oxygen, CPAP, assisting with albuterol (up to three treatments), giving epi with online medical control if severe, reassessing the patient, and nebulized albuterol
• In cardiovascular emergencies, the heart, vessels, and blood are involved, with the heart receiving oxygenated blood from its own arteriole network, and perfusion of the myocardium being crucial
• The heart has automaticity, generating its own electrical impulse, with the SA node causing atria to contract, and the AV junction dispersing charge over ventricles and causing ventricular contraction
• Congestive heart failure is characterized by the heart's inability to pump efficiently, often caused by ischemic heart disease, and management involves oxygenation, CPAP, making the patient calm, immediate transport, loosening restrictive clothing, and administering nitro/aspirin as appropriate
• Cardiogenic shock treatment includes positioning the patient comfortably, providing oxygen, keeping them warm, and administering nitroglycerin as an antianginal, nitrate, vasodilator
• Nitroglycerin indications include chest pain associated with angina or AMI, with precautions against hypotension, hypovolemia, and hypersensitivity to nitrates, and side effects such as decreased blood pressure and possible headache
• Aspirin is used for chest pain, ACS, and has contraindications like active GI bleed, allergy to the drug, aspirin-induced asthma, and any bleeding, with side effects including GI discomfort and wheezing
• Defibrillation is crucial in converting dysrhythmias to normal rhythm by stopping all electrical activity in the heart and allowing it to restart, being the only effective treatment for ventricular fibrillation, the most common initial rhythm of cardiac arrest