AED Defibrillators:
Having access to an AED is essential for resuscitating those who have suffered from SCA (sudden cardiac arrest). Because the incidences of SCA are increased during and after strenuous physical activity, every school should have AED(s) that can be accessed very quickly.
Sudden Cardiac Arrest:
Sudden cardiac arrest is the leading cause of death in young athletes. NATA convened an inter-association task force in Atlanta in 2006 to create guidelines on emergency management of SCA in high school and college athletics. The guidelines created are in accordance with the 2005 American Heart Association’s guidelines for CPR and emergency cardiovascular care (ECC)
It is essential for any school or institution that hosts athletic activities to have a well …show more content…
CPR is important when VF occurs because it supplies a small amount of blood to the vital organs, especially the brain, but because CPR is not always performed correctly it is not as effective.
Weisfeldt and Becker created a 3 phase model of resuscitation.
1) the electric phase: time of cardiac arrest -> 4-6 minutes
2) circulatory phase: cardiac arrest -> 4-10 minutes
3) metabolic phase: cardiac arrest -> 10 minutes and more
CPR and defibrillation should occur within the electric phase for best outcomes. There are many possible causes of decreased resuscitation rates in young athletes. More young athletes suffer from SCA because of structural heart problems, making it more difficult to resuscitate them. It is easy for rescuers to mistake SCA for other conditions, such as seizures. It is also easy to mistake agonal breathing for normal breathing. The chain of survival is extremely important for optimizing chances of survival.
Chain of survival
Early recognition of emergency and calling EMS
Early bystander CPR
Early defibrillation
Early advanced life