Advanced Cardiac Life Support
People s hearts stop beating every day. For many people this cessation of pulse is premature - their hearts should be too good to die. Resuscitative efforts can restore these hearts to spontaneous activity before the brain has been permanently injured. The core purpose of emergency cardiac care is to provide effective care as soon as possible to these hearts that have stopped beating. Rapid restoration of a spontaneously beating heart produces the best chance of achieving the ultimate goal - a thinking, feeling, healthy human being"
The above quote from chapter 1 of the ACLS manual sums up the goals of the ACLS course - to reduce death and disability from cardiovascular emergencies by providing healthcare professionals with guidelines and information on resuscitation.
The knowledge and skills obtained on the ACLS course include:
- Airway Management and Endotracheal Intubation
- Non-Invasive airway techniques and devices
- recovery position
- nasal cannulae
- venturi masks
- barrier devices for ventilation
- oropharyngeal and nasopharyngeal devices
- pocket face masks
- bag-valve mask ventilation
- cricoid pressure
- Techniques of administering oxygen
- oxygen cylinders
- cricothyrotomy
- transtracheal catheter ventilation
- Endotracheal intubation
- orally
- nasally
- tracheobronchial suctioning
- tracheo-oesophageal obturator devices
- The Major ACLS Emergency Conditions
- respiratory arrest
- ventricular fibrillation and Pulseless ventricular tachycardia
- pulseless electrical activity
- asystole
- bradycardias
- tachycardias
- acute myocardial infarction
- hypotension/shock and acute pulmonary oedema
- Electrical Therapy
- defibrillation with automated external defibrillators (AEDs)
- defibrillation with conventional defibrillators
- use of the defibrillator as a cardiac monitor
- synchronised cardioversion
- transcutaneous pacing
- Intravenous and Invasive Theraputic and Monitoring Techniques
- peripheral lines
- central lines
- pericardiocentesis
- needle thoracostomy
- ECG Rhythms
- Lethal Arrythmias
- ventricular fibrillation
- ventricular tachycardia
- asystole
- pulseless electrical activity
- Normal sinus rhythm
- Bradycardias
- sinus bradycardia
- trioventricular blocks
- Tachycardias
- sinus tachycardia
- atrial tachycardia with various degrees of block
- atrial fibrillation
- atrial flutter
- paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia
- wide-complex tachycardias
- Premature ventricular complexes
- ECG criteria for acute ischaemia, injury and infarction
- Pacemaker spikes
- Artifact from lead detachment, movement or electrical interference
- Special Resuscitation Situations
- stroke
- hypothermia
- drowning and near-drowning
- cardiac arrest associated with trauma v
- electricution and lightning
- cardiac arrest associated with pregnancy
- drug overdosage