From this article you will learn: what is the indirect heart massage, for what, to whom and who can do it. Is it possible to harm a person by performing this procedure, and how to make it really help.
The essence and meaning of the heart massage
Indirect cardiac massage is called emergency resuscitation, aimed at replacing and restoring stopped cardiac activity.
This procedure is the most important for saving a person's life, which has stopped the heart, and is in a state of clinical death. Therefore, every person should be able to do heart massage. Even if you are not an expert, but at least some know how this procedure should go - do not be afraid to do it.
You do not hurt the patient if you do something wrong, and if you do not do anything, it will lead to his death. The main thing - just make sure that your heartbeats are really missing. Otherwise, even an ideally executed massage will do much harm.
Essence and meaning of heart massage
The purpose of heart massage is to artificially recreate, replace cardiac activity in case of its stop. This can be achieved by squeezing the heart cavities from the outside, which mimics the first phase of cardiac activity - contraction( systole) with further weakening of pressure on the myocardium, which simulates the second phase - relaxation( diastole).
You can make such a massage in two ways: direct and indirect. The first is possible only with surgical intervention, when there is immediate access to the heart. The surgeon takes it in his hand and performs a rhythmic alternation of compression and relaxation.
Indirect heart massage is therefore called indirect, that there is no direct contact with the organ. The compression is carried out through the wall of the chest, as the heart is located between the spine and the breastbone. Effective pressure on this area can throw into the blood vessels about 60% of the blood volume compared to the self-contracting myocardium. Thus, the blood can circulate through the largest arteries and vital organs( the brain, heart, lungs).
Indications: who really needs this procedure
The most important thing in heart massage is to determine if he needs a person or not. The only indication is a complete cardiac arrest. This means that even if the unconscious patient has severe rhythm disturbances, but at least some cardiac activity is preserved, it is better to abstain from the procedure. Squeezing a contracting heart can cause it to stop.
Exception is the cases of severe ventricular fibrillation, in which they seem to tremble( about 200 times per minute), but do not perform any full-scale contraction, as well as weakness of the sinus node and atrioventricular blockades, in which the heart rate is less than 25 beats per minute. If such patients are not helped, the condition will inevitably be heavier, and a stop of the heart will come. Therefore, they can also do an indirect massage, if there is no way to help in another way.
Justification of the expediency of this procedure is described in the table:
| When to do massage | When it is not necessary to do |
|---|---|
Manifestations of clinical death:
| 1. Signs of biological death:
|
| 2. The presence of cardiac activity - there is a pulse on the carotid artery of the neck. |
Clinical death is a stage of dying after the cessation of cardiac activity lasting 3-4 minutes. In the event of this time, irreversible processes occur in the organs( primarily in the brain) - biological death sets in. Therefore, the only time to do a heart massage is the period of clinical death. Even if you do not know when the heart stopped and are not sure whether there is a heartbeat, be guided by other signs of this condition.
Step-by-step massage instruction, recommendations, cautions
The sequence of actions that comprise the technique of indirect heart massage includes:
1. Determine if the patient has a pulse and a heartbeat:
- Feel your fingers in front of the medial neck in the projection of the location of the carotid arteries. The absence of pulsation speaks of a cardiac arrest.
- Listen with your ear or phonendoscope left half of your chest.
2. If you doubt the absence of palpitations, before you do an indirect cardiac massage, determine other signs of clinical death:
- complete lack of consciousness and any reactions to your actions;
- wide, non-responsive pupils;
- no breath.
Symptoms of clinical death 3. If these signs do occur - boldly proceed to indirect heart massage, observing the technique of execution:
- Put the patient on his back, but only on a hard surface.
- Open the mouth of the patient if it has slime, vomit, blood or any foreign bodies, clean the oral cavity with your fingers.
- Throw back the victim's head well. This will prevent the tongue from slipping. It is desirable to fix it in this position by placing any roller under the neck.
- Stand to the right of the patient at the chest level.
- Arrange the brushes of both hands on the sternum at a point that is two fingers above the lower end of the sternum( the border between the middle and bottom third).
- The hands should lie like this: the fulcrum of one hand is the soft part of the palm in the area of the thumb and finger point immediately below the wrist. Place the second brush on the one that is located on the chest and twist their fingers into the lock. The fingers should not lie on the ribs, as they can cause fractures during the massage.
- Bend over the injured in such a way that with properly positioned brushes you seem to rest against the sternum. Hands should be straight( bent at the elbows).
Click on the picture to enlarge Technique for performing chest compressions should be as follows:
- At least 100 times per minute.
- So that it is pressed in 3-5 cm.
- Do not compress by flexing and flexing your arms in the elbows, but with pressure from the whole body. Your hands should be a kind of gear lever. So you will not get tired and will be able to perform the massage as much as you need. This procedure requires a lot of effort and energy.
Click on the picture to enlarge Indirect cardiac massage can last about 20 minutes. Every minute, assess whether a pulse appeared on the carotid arteries. If, at the time of this incident, the palpitations are restored, further massage is not advisable.
Doing artificial respiration simultaneously with cardiac massage is not necessary, but it is possible. The correct technique of execution in this case: after 30 pressures, do 2 breaths.
Forecast
The effectiveness of indirect heart massage is unpredictable - from 5 to 65% result in the restoration of cardiac activity and the salvation of human life. The prognosis is better when it is performed in young people without concomitant diseases and injuries. But stopping the heart without an indirect massage is 100% complete with death.
