“RESTORE normal HEART RATE”
(Reflection Paper)
Basic Life Support is a level of medical treatment provided in life-threatening emergencies
before the victim can be treated properly by a paramedic team or at a hospital. It is called as such
because life support is considered as the foundation of the life for it is called as “basic” it is the very
first thing to do in times of deadly situations like cardiac arrest or heart attack. So, I would also like to
commend Ms. Isip for clarifying the difference of first aid from basic life support. In this talk, I have
learned that performing first aid is for the patients that are still breathing but they are feeling some
discomfort in any areas of their body. Meaning the patient is still conscious to what is happening to
him or her just like having a fracture, a wound or laceration, a strain or sprain, and many more. On
the other hand, in basic life support, we are already talking about the line between life and death
because this tremendous scenario might cause unpleasant result if not attended with care and proper
execution just like how heart attack and cardiac arrest must need to take care of.
Here in basic life support, we have what Ms. Isip called “Chain of Survival” where in it is a
simultaneous course of action that a life supporter or any first aider must do in order to execute the
action properly and accordingly to what the patient needs. I would also like to strongly agree with
what Ms. Isip said that anyone to do or perform a first aid, they should not suddenly or immediately
perform this action because first they need to consider the place or location where they are to execute
the first aid or life support. they need to make sure that the place is safe and free from danger or any
hazardous situation. Second is they need to check the patient’s vital signs whether he or she is
breathing or not. This is essential and important in order for the first aider to determine what kind of
action he or she will perform. The, the third one is to call for help. Why is this important? Well, this is
primarily because whatever might happen when you perform the actual thing, there is an immediate
help to bring the patient to the hospital or any nearby center to attend to his or her medical needs. In
this kind of life needle stick, every tick-tack of the clock, every second, every millisecond is important
and must seize and grab every opportunity to save the life of the patient. One should not let pride
take over the situation, even if you know what exactly to do, it is still important to have the medical
assistants in your side in times of life and death scenario. Thus, do not forget that when calling for
help, one must not failed to mention where exactly they are including the landmarks, number of
casualties, and of course what happened to the individual in order to let the rescuer know what
equipment they will be needing in the scenario because of course they cannot go there with empty
hands right?
Then, the next thing I have learned is the two types of Cardiac Emergencies. So here we have
heart attack and cardiac arrest. To be honest, I often have a mistake determining these two terms
because back then I firmly thought that these two have an interchangeable meaning without even
knowing that they are entirely different from one another. Up until my sister pointed out that these
have a distinct difference and are terms that should not be confused for. And here in this virtual
lesson, it made my sister’s statement true and valid. Because in heart attack the person is still alive
and conscious the only problem is the blood flow and oxygen supply. So, it means, the heart is still
pumping and functioning. So, in this case the management to perform is first aid. The first thing to do
is stop the person with what he or she is doing. Then, let them be in there most comfortable position.
Commonly it is sitting for some. Then help them calm themselves by slowly breathing in and
breathing out. Then if ever there is a prescribed medication by a doctor, the only action a first aider
must do is to give it to the patient and not to feed them the medicine. It is a protocol in every first
aider because it is a psychological approach that everything will be alright and it will just last for a
moment. See? Being a first aider does not only mean to attend with medical needs of the patient but
also to their psychological needs in order to aid their anxiousness and to calm themselves. To this
information I learned a lot because I am used with the normal thought that when someone is feeling
uncomfortable, the best thing to do is to spoiled them by giving them their medicines myself but on
the contrary it is a wrong way of thinking all along. To avoid this kind of scenario, it is necessary to
know the risks factors that may trigger this illness like the modifiable and non-modifiable factors. It
can be either be avoided or what we called modifiable or it can be through hereditary, aging, or by
gender or what we called non-modifiable. Then the second cardiac emergency is Cardiac Arrest.
Unlike heart attack wherein the patient is still conscious and alive, here in cardiac arrest the heart of a
person already stopped beating and pumping blood causing to a lack of enough supplied oxygen in
different organs inside the body. It is the dangerous condition a person may underwent with because
if this kind of thing happen and there is no one to properly attended the patient’s needs then he or she
will automatically be considered as brain death for the heart is the only organ inside our body that
supplies enough oxygen to our brain. Without enough oxygen, then there may occur a brain damage.
Imagine 4-6 mins of cardiac arrest may cause brain damage and 10 mins and more may already cause
a fatal irreversible brain damage. See? There should be no time wasted in this kind of situation
because if so, the patient may die in any moment of time. If faced with the same scenario, the best
thing to do is the Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation as the combination of chest compression and
rescue breathing. The heart cannot pump blood to the rest of the body, including the brain and lungs,
during cardiac arrest. Without care, death will occur in minutes. Chest compressions are used in CPR
to simulate the heart's pumping action. These compressions aid in the circulation of blood in the
body.
In conclusion, understanding BLS courses and, most importantly, putting these approaches
into practice is by far the most difficult challenge facing first responders. Taking this into account, we
agree that a thorough education in first aid and basic life support should be included in every medical
school curriculum. Although the Basic Life Support procedure can be extremely beneficial, it is critical
to perform it correctly! As a result, technical institutes that offer BLS training receive a lot of attention.
BLS certification will give medical and non-medical practitioners the expertise and information they
need. Thus, if a bystander recognizes an emergency and is ready, eager, and able to help, they can
double or triple the chances of survival if they start CPR right away.