An Emergency Medical Responder informs you that he was assisting EMS with a cardiac arrest last week. He also states that the patient had been in cardiac arrest for eight minutes and questions why CPR was performed first, even though the AED was right there. You should reply:
a. The chest compressions administered before defibrillation relax the muscles of the chest wall, allowing more electricity to enter the body.
b. When the heart is in cardiac arrest for a few minutes, the blood in the heart becomes toxic and must be pumped out before defibrillating.
c. Research has shown that chest compressions frequently convert the heart rhythm from asystole to ventricular fibrillation.
d. Compressions administered prior to defibrillation help ensure that the heart is perfused with blood, increasing the chance of successful defibrillation.
Answer: D