Can a punch in the heart of someone who is in a cardiac arrest make it restart beating?
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Years ago, it was acceptable practice to do a precordial thump for a witnessed cardiac arrest.
Sometimes this worked. The new recommendation is to begin CPR and also to use a automatic emergency defibrillator if you have one available.
Precordial thump is no longer recommended despite the fact that I have successfully used it when it was still recommended. It it less of a punch, and more of a mid sternal gravity drop of your dominant fist. Best wishes.
Sometimes this worked. The new recommendation is to begin CPR and also to use a automatic emergency defibrillator if you have one available.
Precordial thump is no longer recommended despite the fact that I have successfully used it when it was still recommended. It it less of a punch, and more of a mid sternal gravity drop of your dominant fist. Best wishes.
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Sometimes.
"The precordial thump may be considered for patients with witnessed, monitored, unstable VT (including pulseless VT) if a defibrillator is not immediately ready for use, but it should not delay CPR and shock delivery."
So ONLY if the person you are going to thump is on a monitor, you can identify the rhythm as unstable ventricular tachycardia, and you happened to be standing there watching the monitor when he went into that rhythm. The chances are overwhelming, though, that if all of those conditions are met, there is a defibrillator a few feet away.
Please do not punch any people having heart attacks.
"The precordial thump may be considered for patients with witnessed, monitored, unstable VT (including pulseless VT) if a defibrillator is not immediately ready for use, but it should not delay CPR and shock delivery."
So ONLY if the person you are going to thump is on a monitor, you can identify the rhythm as unstable ventricular tachycardia, and you happened to be standing there watching the monitor when he went into that rhythm. The chances are overwhelming, though, that if all of those conditions are met, there is a defibrillator a few feet away.
Please do not punch any people having heart attacks.
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Yes and no.
A precordial thump is worthwhile in a monitored patient who suddenly goes into ventricular tachycardia without a pulse, so long as it doesn't delay CPR and defibrillation.
But what it actually does, like a defibrillator but with much less certainty, is to stop the heart, in hopes that when it begins to beat on its own a second or three later, the beat will then be organized.
I haven't done it in many, many years, and the last guy I did it to tried to slug me back.
A precordial thump is worthwhile in a monitored patient who suddenly goes into ventricular tachycardia without a pulse, so long as it doesn't delay CPR and defibrillation.
But what it actually does, like a defibrillator but with much less certainty, is to stop the heart, in hopes that when it begins to beat on its own a second or three later, the beat will then be organized.
I haven't done it in many, many years, and the last guy I did it to tried to slug me back.