Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation

Abstract

CARDIOPULMONARY arrest can be defined as the abrupt cessation of spontaneous and effective ventilation and systemic perfusion (circulation). Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) provides artificial ventilation and circulation until advanced cardiac life support can be provided and spontaneous cardiopulmonary function restored. Patients most likely to benefit from CPR (i.e., to be successfully resuscitated) include the following: those with witnessed sudden arrest due to ventricular fibrillation outside the hospital, when electrical countershock can be performed within approximately seven to eight minutes; hospitalized patients with primary ventricular fibrillation and ischemic heart disease; those with cardiac arrest in the absence of life-threatening coexisting conditions; and . . .