![]() ![]() Unless of course you were going to attempt the resuscitation for the purposes of providing organ donation, then maybe. No blood flow would have been getting to the brain and thus after around 10 minutes, it would be futile in most cases. ![]() If no CPR was being performed, then possibly not. If there is some electrical function, and good CPR was being performed (thereby continuing to get some blood to the brain) most will continue attempting to resuscitate. Whether they need to externally shock the heart, called defibrillation, or attempt to create a steady beat externally, called “pacing”, they do need some electrical function. For a complete explanation of how this works check out our article on How the Heart Works.Īny rescuer needs some sort of electrical function to be happening within the heart to be able to get the heart beating on its own again. The electricity created is what “shocks” the heart and causes it to contract and squeeze blood out to the body. The electrical part is mediated by electrolytes like sodium, potassium and calcium. The second thing to consider is, “What is the electrical function of the heart?” The heart itself is a two part pump- one part electrical, the other is plumbing. If good CPR is being performed, the brain cells are also getting some blood supply, although decreased, so the time frame is again extended to the point the rescuer feels is appropriate. In situations of slow metabolism, like when the person is hypothermic, those time-frames are extended. That said, there are some exceptions to that rule. After around 10 minutes, those cells will cease functioning, and be effectively dead. For this, a general rule of thumb is that brain cells begin to die after approximately 4-6 minutes of no blood-flow. The first question any rescuer needs to consider is, “What’s the likelihood that the victim’s brain cells are still functioning?” If there’s a good chance that if you get their heart back going, the person isn’t going to be a vegetable, you continue trying. The first, and most important thing to consider is the point of trying to revive the heart in the first place- that’s to supply the body, and most importantly brain cells, with adequate blood flow. With this in mind, let’s take a quick look at some of the most common things to consider when trying to resuscitate someone, and how long you would try to revive them in those situations. In other situations, numerous factors need to be considered when deciding when to stop trying to resuscitate someone, such as how quickly CPR was started after their heart stopped how well CPR was performed (note: CPR does not require mouth to mouth and recent studies seem to indicate the person has a better chance of surviving with just compressions in most cases) the types of medications used during the resuscitation the medical history of the person, known as comorbid factors and, finally, the cause of the cardiac arrest in the first place. The mantra in that situation is, “They’re not dead until they’re warm and dead.” So many, in fact, that the current guideline set by the American Heart Association (AHA) is that you continue trying to revive the person until their core body temperature is above 95 degrees Fahrenheit- 95 degrees, because below that is the technical definition of hypothermia. For instance, there are countless people who have been subject to hypothermia, have their heart stopped for over 45 minutes, and still have been successfully revived. It’s not as simple as saying after 10 or even 20 minutes there’s no hope. ![]() The question of how long someone’s heart would have to be stopped for before you can safely say that regardless of what you do, you’re not going to be able to revive them is a very tricky question. Ken Laha asks: How long would someone’s heart have to be stopped before you’d stop trying to revive them? ![]()
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