Advanced CPR Management
The management of cardiorespiratory emergencies is very common in organized medical set-ups such as hospitals and other similar health care facilities. When patients suddenly get heart attacks (cardiac arrests), they become pulseless and either manifest irregular or absent breathing. The first thing health care providers do is to assess the patient and immediately perform CPR.
As the emergency response system is activated, the code team – a group of health care providers who are tasked to manage cardiorespiratory emergencies – handles the patient’s immediate care. Aside from the repetition of cycles of compressions and ventilations, medication is administered and defibrillation is performed (the latter as needed). This is all part of Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS), which focuses on the management adult cardiorespiratory emergencies in a medical setting.
ACLS training with Red Deer First Aid
Red Deer First Aid specializes in CPR and first aid training programs, with the advanced course ACLS being one of the most popular. It is one of the longer programs offered, taking two days to complete over 12 hours. The program’s curriculum focuses on advanced topics such as:
- Cardiac pharmacology
- Respiratory medication
- Manual defibrillation
- Management of acute coronary syndrome, stroke, and arrythmia
- Updates to the guidelines in basic CPR and Emergency Cardiovascular Care
These are only some of the topics, not all that will be covered in an ACLS program at Red Deer First Aid. After completing the training program, we award all our trainees with an ACLS training credential valid for 36 months. Before the certificate is formally awarded, the student still has to pass a set of practical and written exams part of the certification test.
Once the certificate expires or approaches expiry, trainees become eligible for the ACLS refresher class which runs from 5 to 6 hours. After taking the class, they have to pass another set of exams to be awarded a new training certificate, valid for three years as well.
Introduction to Cardiac Pharmacology
Cardiac arrest is characterized by a heart that isn’t beating at all or is beating very very slowly and with almost no force. During this time, defibrillation is no longer an option – only compressions and ventilations are performed. Also, the use of a cardiac drug called epinephrine is given every three minutes to help improve the contractility of the heart muscle which can help get the heart beating again.
Epinephrine is also used during severe allergic reactions that affect respiration, a condition called anaphylaxis. Anaphylactic shock results from contact with an allergen, typically bees or nuts, or similar substances. When epinephrine is given, it causes bronchodilation, which will immediately relieve the victim’s respiratory problems.
Signing up for a class
At Red Deer First Aid, we want to make enrollment very accessible to prospective trainees. If you are interesting in enrolling in our ACLS class, you can use the form below to start your enrollment. There are no more downloads and faxing required; just fill up the form and click submit. We will receive your request immediately but we will only confirm it during the next business day.