Whilst working with the London Ambulance Service we received an emergency call by the British Transport Police to a man collapsed in Victoria Rail station, central London. Upon arrival the paramedic assessed the casualty and found he had had a cardiac arrest ( heart attack ). Despite the ambulance crews working on him for over 30mins he unfortunately died. In this shot you can see the paramedic using a defibrillator ( de-fib ) which will shock the casualty through the red paddles. This is used in conjunction with an electrocardiogram ECG which allows the paramedic to diagnose a cardiac condition ( for example tachycardia or fibrillation ). Defibrillation is the definitive treatment for the life-threatening cardiac arrhythmias, ventricular fibrillation ( VF ) and ventricular tachycardia ( VT ). Defibrillation consists of delivering a therapeutic dose of electrical energy to the affected heart. This depolarizes a critical mass of the heart muscle, terminates the arrhythmia, and allows normal sinus rhythm to be reestablished by the body's natural pacemaker in the sinoatrial node of the heart. |
