Chain of survival is a name used in emergency medicine. It applies to activities performed in the case of people in sudden cardiac arrest. It is assumed that the effectiveness of a rescue operation depends on how durable the last link of the chain of survival is.
What is the chain of survival?
Chain of survival these are successive steps rescue operation in order to enable the survival of a patient in a cardiac and circulatory arrest. In this case, it is extremely important to identify the problem early, call for medical help as soon as possible, early cardiopulmonary resuscitation, early defibrillation and post-resuscitation care as soon as possible.
Sudden cardiac arrest is one of the most common causes of death. However, such a situation does not have to take place if it is acted on in time rescue operation.
What are the links in the chain of survival?
Links in the chain of survival there are steps in the action that increase the survival rate of people with sudden cardiac arrest.
The first link chain of survival is the diagnosis that cardiac arrest and cardiac arrest have occurred. This can be done by placing your fingers on the carotid arteries and finding that there is no palpable pulse and no breathing. In this case, you should call for help as soon as possible, i.e. an ambulance – these two actions (recognition and calling for help) are the first link chain of survival.
If we live with a sick person and find them disturbing symptoms such as increased sweating, shortness of breath, chest pain, we should call an ambulance as soon as possible before the patient loses consciousness and the heart stops beating.
However, in the event that such a situation occurs (the patient falls, there is no perceptible pulse and noticeable breathing), the next step in chain of survival There is cardiopulmonary resuscitation, which is an attempt to restore breathing and heart rate by means of artificial respiration and heart massage. During the rescue operation in the second stage chain of survival we use chest compressions and rescue breaths in the ratio of 30 chest compressions and 2 breaths. First, check if the patient’s airways are clear and open them if necessary.
Heart massage maintains blood flow through the heart muscle, brain and kidneys, while artificial respiration oxygenates the blood. With the help of such actions, we can extend the time during which it is possible to save the patient by the ambulance team. While waiting for specialist help, we should not remain idle. Every minute you avoid the risk of hypoxia while waiting for an ambulance is precious.
The third link chain of survival is early defibrillation. Remember, however, that it is only helpful in some types of cardiac arrest. The rule of thumb is, however, that it is better to do it unnecessarily defibrillation than not to do it at all. If AED defibrillator If used in the first five minutes after cardiac arrest, your chances of survival until professional help arrives will increase by up to 75%. Every minute of delay in application defibrylatora AED reduces the probability of survival until ambulance arrival by 10%. In some places of public access (for example in the subway) there are automatic defibrylatory AED. It is important to use them as early as possible while waiting for the ambulance. AED defibrillator is intended to restore heart rate.
The next and last link chain of survival is to provide the patient with post-resuscitation care as soon as possible. This means that it is important that the patient is in the hospital as soon as possible, where specialist care will be provided and where equipment is available to maintain the heart rate and circulation. In Poland, the time for a specialist rescue team to reach the scene of an accident is 5-8 minutes in cities and about 10-12 minutes outside cities. If the patient’s brain has not changed irreversibly during this time as a result of hypoxia due to lack of circulation and heart rate, it is likely that after a few days or weeks of inpatient care in the cardiology department, he will fully recover.
It is also very important that the cause of the sudden cardiac arrest is known during treatment in order to prevent similar episodes in the future.