Heart Attack or Myocardial Infarction

myo = (muscle)
card = (heart)
ial = (relating to)
Infarction = Tissue Death due to ruptures or artery blockages
Can be described as: “Arterial blockages in the heart muscles”
Heart Attack or Myocardial Infarction
Risk Factors Include:
1. High blood pressure
2. Smoking
3. Diabetes
4. Lack of exercise
5. Obesity
6. High blood cholesterol
7. Poor Diet
8. Excessive alcohol intake
Heart Attack or Myocardial Infarction
ST Elevation Myocardial Elevation (STEMI) and the less
serious, Non-STEMI (NSTEMI). ECGs can help determine.
Heart Attack or Myocardial Infarction
Signs and Symptoms include:
1. Sudden onset of weakness, nausea and sweating without
a clear cause.
2. Pain, usually described as squeezing, it is substantial and
perceived as radiating to the jaw, left arm, or both arms.
3. The pain is not always related to physical exertion and not
relieved by rest (not in the thoracic cavity or pectoralis
muscles).
4. Arrhythmia and fainting and difficulty of breathing.
Heart Attack or Myocardial Infarction
Physical Findings:
1. Pulse usually increases, but occasionally will slow.
2. Blood pressure falls.
3. Respiration is normal unless pulmonary edema develops;
then respiration is rapid and shallow.
4. Patient appears frightened and may be sweaty and pale
gray in color.
Heart Attack or Myocardial Infarction
Emergency Care:

For cardiac arrest, CPR is performed.

For patients suspected of having a heart attack, the following procedures are
taken:
1. Place patient in a fowler’s position.
2. Administer oxygen by facemask or nasal canola if patient is irritable or
anxious.
3. Do not allow the patient to assist in moving himself.
4. Loosen any of the patient’s tight clothing.
5. Comfort and reassure the patient.
6. Transport to hospital.
Stroke
Condition that occurs when the blood flow to the brain is
interrupted long enough to cause damage.

Signs and Symptoms:

1. Weakness
2. Hemiparesis or hemiplegia, hyperreflexia, abnormal gait
3. Dyspnea, Difficulty of Breathing, Dysphagia
4. Headache, Confusion, Disorientation, Change of Mood

There are two to three types of stroke

Stroke
Stroke
Ischemic Stroke – blood supply to the brain is decreased
Hemorrhagic Stroke – weak blood vessel ruptures, an
aneurysm can lead to stroke, bleeding either within the brain
or outside the brain but still within the skull

Transient Ischemic Attack - mini stroke, stroke symptoms

that are resolves within 24-hours

Strokes can either be symptomatic or silent.

Stroke
Emergency Care:

1. Check the victim’s ABC.

2. Have the victim rest in a comfortable position.
3. Seek immediate help.
4. Do not give the victim anything by mouth.
5. If the victim lost consciousness, place him her in the recovery
position and administer first aid for the unconscious.
6. Continue to monitor ABC’s.
7. Stay with the victim until medical help arrives.
Diabetes
Type 1 Diabetes: organ-specific autoimmune, ‘insulin-dependent
diabetes mellitus’, genetic and early-onset, failure to produce
(enough) insulin
Type 2 Diabetes: insulin-resistance, develops slowly, most
prevalent, due to lifestyle, adult-onset

Gestational Diabetes: first-time diabetes found in pregnant

women, hallmark of GDM is insulin-resistance, they may develop
type 2 diabetes even after the gestational diabetes has settled
down after pregnancy
Diabetes
A1c Test: The HbA1C test measures your average blood sugar
level over the past 2 or 3 months. An A1C below 5.7% is normal,
between 5.7 and 6.4% indicates you have prediabetes, and
6.5% or higher indicates you have diabetes.

Fasting Blood Sugar Test: his measures your blood sugar after
an overnight fast (not eating). A fasting blood sugar level of 99
mg/dL or lower is normal, 100 to 125 mg/dL indicates you have
prediabetes, and 126 mg/dL or higher indicates you have
diabetes.
Diabetes
Glucose Tolerance Test: This measures your blood sugar before
and after you drink a liquid that contains glucose. You’ll fast (not
eat) overnight before the test and have your blood drawn to
determine your fasting blood sugar level. Then you’ll drink the
liquid and have your blood sugar level checked 1 hour, 2 hours,
and possibly 3 hours afterward. At 2 hours, a blood sugar level
of 140 mg/dL or lower is considered normal, 140 to 199 mg/dL
indicates you have prediabetes, and 200 mg/dL or higher
indicates you have diabetes.
Diabetes
Complications:
1. Damage to blood vessels, causing coronary artery disease
2. Other macrovascular diseases, cerebrovascular and
peripheral artery, due to decreases elasticity
3. Diabetic retinopathy, diabetic nephropathy, diabetic
neuropathy
Other Signs:
1. Polyuria, polyphagia, polydipsia
2. Sweet-smelling urine (and sweat)
Diabetes
For Diabetic Emergencies:
1. We can help in administering insulins that are pen-type
2. We can help in administering glucose crystals or other sugar
pamphlets under the tongue, sublingual route
3. Administer high concentration of Oxygen for coma patients
Seizure
Are a period of symptoms due to abnormally excessive
brainwaves or neural oscillations. They usually last not longer
than 2 minutes, they may also either be provoked or unprovoked.

Epilepsy is a term for disorders characterized by recurrent

unprovoked seizures.
Seizure
Grand Mal Seizures associated with loss of consciousness

Petit Mal Seizures associated with momentarily loss of

awareness

Focal Seizures only affects one hemisphere of the brain, they

tend to have an onset of aura or perceptual disturbance in the
senses.

People who experience seizures enter postictal periods after.

Seizure
Atonic Seizures where muscles suddenly become limp

Absent Seizures a momentary loss of awareness, blank staring

Tonic seizure causes a sudden stiffness or tension in the muscles of

the arms, legs or trunk. Person may turn blue.

Clonic seizures involve shaking of the limbs in unison

Myoclonic seizures involve spasms of muscles in either a few areas

or generalized through the body.
Seizure
What to do:

1. Make sure the area and that the person is safe

2. Do not hold the victim down
3. Do not put anything between the victim’s teeth
4. Put the person in the recovery position after
5. Make sure the head is safe afterwards
Seizure
Convulsions:

A convulsion is a medical condition where the body muscles

contract and relax rapidly and repeatedly, resulting in
uncontrolled shaking. Used interchangeably with seizure,
however a distinct type of convulsion is Febrile Convulsion.

Convulsive episodes are not indicative of elipepsy.

Seizure
Febrile Convulsions:

A febrile seizure is a convulsion in a child that's caused by a

fever. The fever is often from an infection. Febrile seizures occur
in young, healthy children who have normal development and
haven't had any neurological symptoms before.

It can be frightening when your child has a febrile seizure.

Fortunately, febrile seizures are usually harmless, only last a few
minutes, and typically don't indicate a serious health problem.
Fever
Is defined as having a temperature above the normal range
due to an increase in the body's temperature set point. It is
also called pyrexia.

A fever can help your immune system fight infections in two

ways. A higher temperature in the body speeds up how cells
work, including the ones that fight illness. They can respond
to invading germs faster. Also, higher body temperatures
make it harder for bacteria and viruses to thrive in your body.
A temperature-sensitive signaling pathway
Fever
While it might seem like a good idea to put a young child in a
cold bath to bring down a fever, it's actually not
recommended. Cold water can increase core body
temperature by cooling the skin and causing shivering. For
the same reason, sponging a child down with cold water is
also not a good idea. A tepid (lukewarm) bath, however,
might make a child more comfortable.

It adds unnecessary stress to the body. Chills should be

considered.
Nosebleed
Or epistaxis, is bleeding from the nose, either from anterior
or posterior origins, treatment may include direct pressure
for five minutes and ice applications when necessary.

The utility of local cooling of the head and neck is

controversial. Others feel that it may promote
vasoconstriction of the nasal blood vessels and thus be
useful.