Cardiology, Airway, and Ventilation Flashcards

Which of the following is considered to be an early sign of hypoxia?

Answer: Disorientation

Hypoxia, a lack of adequate oxygen to the body's tissues, can manifest with various signs. Early signs often involve changes in mental status due to the brain's sensitivity to oxygen deprivation. Disorientation, confusion, restlessness, and anxiety are common early indicators of hypoxia, preceding more severe signs like loss of coordination or a sleepy appearance.

When performing mouth-to-mouth breaths on an adult it is important to:

Answer: take a regular breath and seal your lips around the victim’s mouth.

When performing mouth-to-mouth resuscitation on an adult, it's recommended to take a regular breath, not a deep or shallow one, to deliver an appropriate volume of air. You should then seal your lips tightly around the victim's mouth to create an airtight seal, while simultaneously pinching the nose closed, to ensure the delivered air goes into the lungs.

When using a simple face mask:

Answer: deliver air over 1 second.

When providing ventilations with a simple face mask (or any bag-mask device), each breath should be delivered slowly and smoothly over approximately 1 second. This allows time for the air to enter the lungs without causing gastric inflation, and it helps to ensure adequate chest rise. Delivering air too quickly or forcefully can lead to complications.

The airway within the lungs branches into narrower and narrower passages called:

Answer: bronchioles

The respiratory system's airways branch extensively within the lungs. The trachea divides into two main bronchi, which then further divide into smaller and smaller passages. These progressively narrower airways are called bronchioles, and they eventually lead to the alveoli, where gas exchange occurs.

Air is inhaled into the lungs when the diaphragm:

Answer: contracts and moves downward in the chest.

Inhalation is an active process driven by the contraction of the diaphragm and intercostal muscles. When the diaphragm contracts, it flattens and moves downward, increasing the volume of the thoracic cavity. This increase in volume creates a negative pressure inside the lungs, causing air to rush in from the atmosphere.

All of the following choices are true of an agonal gasp except:

Answer: They are always forceful and make the patient's head move.

Agonal gasps are an abnormal breathing pattern often seen in cardiac arrest, characterized by infrequent, irregular, and often weak gasps. They are not forceful and do not typically cause head movement; instead, they may sound like snorts, grunts, or labored breaths. It's crucial to recognize that agonal gasps are not normal breathing and indicate a need for immediate CPR.

When transporting a victim by stretcher:

Answer: you can leave the AED powered on and attached.

When transporting a patient for whom an AED has been applied, it is best practice to leave the AED powered on and attached to the patient. This allows for continuous cardiac monitoring and ensures that the AED is immediately ready to deliver another shock if the patient's rhythm becomes shockable again during transport. Disconnecting or powering it off would delay potential life-saving interventions.

You are checking to see if a patient is responsive when he or she lets out an agonal gasp. This is:

Answer: not normal breathing.

An agonal gasp is a sign of severe respiratory distress or cardiac arrest and is not considered normal breathing. While it may appear as if the patient is trying to breathe, these gasps are ineffective and indicate that the patient is not getting enough oxygen. Recognizing agonal gasps as abnormal is critical for initiating immediate CPR and other life-saving measures.

Your partner is delivering mouth-to-mouth ventilations to a patient while you are in charge of chest compressions. Your partner is delivering quick, forceful breaths to minimize interruptions in chest compressions. Which of the following statements is true about this scenario?

Answer: Delivering quick forceful breaths is inappropriate and causes air to enter the stomach instead of the lungs.

Delivering quick, forceful breaths during ventilations is inappropriate because it increases the risk of gastric inflation, where air enters the stomach instead of the lungs. This can lead to complications such as vomiting, which poses an aspiration risk, and can also reduce the effectiveness of chest compressions. Proper rescue breaths should be delivered slowly over about 1 second, just enough to make the chest visibly rise.

If you are alone and find that a patient is not breathing and you have already activated the emergency response system you should:

Answer: get an AED and return to the victim.

When alone with an unresponsive, non-breathing patient after activating the emergency response system, the priority is to retrieve an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) if one is readily available. Early defibrillation significantly increases the chances of survival for patients in cardiac arrest. While chest compressions are crucial, the AED can analyze the heart rhythm and deliver a life-saving shock if needed, making it a critical next step.

2-rescuer CPR is performed at a ratio of what in a child?

Answer: 15 to 2

For 2-rescuer CPR in a child, the recommended compression-to-ventilation ratio is 15 compressions to 2 breaths. This ratio ensures that the child receives adequate ventilations, which are often more critical in pediatric cardiac arrest cases due to respiratory causes. The higher frequency of breaths compared to adult 2-rescuer CPR (30:2) reflects this physiological difference and the greater importance of ventilations in children.