Which rhythms are considered shockable during cardiac arrest management?

Which rhythms are considered shockable during cardiac arrest management?

• A. Pulseless Electrical Activity and Asystole
• B. Atrial Fibrillation
• C. Sinus Tachycardia
• D. Ventricular Fibrillation and Ventricular Tachycardia

Answer: (D)

Defibrillation is used in cardiac arrest when the heart’s ventricles are in a chaotic or extremely rapid rhythm that prevents any effective pumping. The rhythms that respond to a shock are ventricular fibrillation and pulseless ventricular tachycardia. A defibrillator delivers a brief, high-energy impulse to briefly halt electrical activity across the heart, giving the sinus node or another pacemaker a chance to re-establish a normal, organized, and perfusing rhythm. Non-shockable rhythms, like pulseless electrical activity and asystole, show little to no coordinated electrical activity in the ventricles, so a shock wouldn’t help and CPR with medication and addressing reversible causes is the course. Atrial fibrillation or sinus tachycardia can occur in other clinical contexts, but in the arrest setting they’re not the rhythms targeted by defibrillation. When a shockable rhythm is present, deliver the shock promptly, then continue CPR and follow ACLS steps to optimize chances of return of spontaneous circulation.

Defibrillation is used in cardiac arrest when the heart’s ventricles are in a chaotic or extremely rapid rhythm that prevents any effective pumping. The rhythms that respond to a shock are ventricular fibrillation and pulseless ventricular tachycardia. A defibrillator delivers a brief, high-energy impulse to briefly halt electrical activity across the heart, giving the sinus node or another pacemaker a chance to re-establish a normal, organized, and perfusing rhythm.

Non-shockable rhythms, like pulseless electrical activity and asystole, show little to no coordinated electrical activity in the ventricles, so a shock wouldn’t help and CPR with medication and addressing reversible causes is the course. Atrial fibrillation or sinus tachycardia can occur in other clinical contexts, but in the arrest setting they’re not the rhythms targeted by defibrillation. When a shockable rhythm is present, deliver the shock promptly, then continue CPR and follow ACLS steps to optimize chances of return of spontaneous circulation.