ACLS

A patient with sinus bradycardia and a heart rate of 42/min has diaphoresis and a blood pressure of 80/60 mmHg. What is the initial dose of atropine?

0.5 mg

What is the maximum interval for pausing chest compressions?

10 seconds

What is the recommended compression rate for high-quality CPR?

100-120 compressions per min

A patient is in refractory ventricular fibrillation and has received multiple appropriate defibrillation shocks, epinephrine 1 mg IV twice, and an initial dose of amiodarone 300 mg IV. The patient is intubated. Which best describes the recommended second dose of amiodarone for this patient?

150 mg IV push

What is the recommended depth of chest compressions for an adult victim?

2 inches

You are providing bad-mask ventilations to a patient in respiratory arrest. How often should you provide ventilations?

About 5-6 seconds

How often should you switch chest compressors to avoid fatigue?

About every 2 minutes

A 35 year old woman has palpitations, lightheadedness., and a stable tachycardia. The monitor shows a regular narrow-complex QRS at a rate of 180/min. Vagal maneuvers have not been effective in terminating the rhythm. An IV has been established. Which drug should be administered?

Adenosine 6 mg

A monitored patient in the ICU developed a sudden onset of narrow-complex tachycardia at a rate of 220/min. The patient's blood pressure is 128/58 mmHg, the PETCO2 is 38 mmHg, and the pulse oximetry reading is 98%. There is vascular access in the left arm, and the patient has not been given any vasoactive drugs. A 12 lead EKG confirms a Supraventricular tachycardia with no evidence of ischemia or infarction. The heart rate has not responded to vagal maneuvers. What is your next action?

Administer adenosine 6 mg IV

How does complete chest recoil contribute to effective CPR?

Allows maximum blood return to The heart.

A patient is in pulseless ventricular tachycardia. Two shocks and 1 dose of epinephrine have been given. What drug should be given next?

Amiodarone 300 mg

You are caring for a 66 year old man with a history of a large intracerebral hemorrhage 2 months ago. He is being evaluated for another acute stroke. The CT scan is negative for hemorrhage. The patient is receiving oxygen via nasal cannula at 2 L/min, and an IV has been established. His blood pressure is 180/100 mmHg. Which drug do you anticipate giving to this patient?

Aspirin

A patient is in cardiac arrest. Ventricular fibrillation has been refractory to a second shock. Which drug should be administered first?

Epinephrine

Which intervention is most appropriate for the treatment of a patient in asystole?

Epinephrine

A patient is in refractory ventricular fibrillation. High-quality CPR is in progress. One dose of epinephrine was given after the second shock. You are a team leader. Which medication do you order next?

Epinephrine 1 mg

A patient is in cardiac arrest. High-quality chest compressions are being given. The patient is intubated, and an IV has been started. The rhythm is asystole. What is the first drug/dose to administer?

Epinephrine 1 mg IV/IO

A patient has sinus bradycardia with a heart rate of 36/min. Atropine has been administered to a total dose of 3 mg. A transcutaneous pacemaker has failed to capture. The patient is confused, and her blood pressure is 88/56 mmHg. Which therapy is now indicated?

Epinephrine 2-10 mcg/min

You arrive on the scene with the code team. High-quality CPR is in progress. An AED has previously advised "no shock indicated." A rhythm check now finds asystole. After resuming high-quality compressions, which action do you take next?

Establish IV or IO access

A patient with STEMI has ongoing chest discomfort. Heparin 4000 units IV bolus and heparin infusion of 1000 units per hour are being administered. The patient did not take aspirin because of a history of gastritis, which was treated 5 years ago. Which is your next action?

Give aspirin 160 to 325 mg to chew.

A 62 year old man suddenly experienced difficulty speaking and left-sided weakness. He meets initial criteria for fibrinolytic therapy, and a CT scan of the brain is ordered. Which best describes the guidelines for antiplatelet and fibrinolytic therapy?

Hold aspirin for at least 24 hours if rtPA is administered.

In which situation does bradycardia require treatment?

Hypotension

A patient is in cardiac arrest. Ventricular fibrillation has been refractory to an initial shock. If no pathway for medication administration is in place, which method is preferred?

IV/IO

A 57 year old woman has palpitations, chest discomfort, and tachycardia. The monitor shows a regular wide-complex QRS at a rate of 180/min. Which action do you take next?

Perform electrical cardioversion.

What is the indication for the use of magnesium in cardiac arrest?

Pulseless ventricular tachycardia-associated torsades de pointes

EKG shows a STEMI. 5/10 chest pain after 3 doses of SL NTG. BP 104/70. Which intervention is most important in reducing this patient's in-hospital and 30-day mortality rate?

Reperfusion therapy

Which action should you take immediately after providing AED shock?

Resume chest compression

A patient has a rapid irregular wide-complex tachycardia. The ventricular rate is 138/min. He is asymptomatic, with a blood pressure of 110/70 mmHg. He has a history of angina. What action is recommended next?

Seeking expert consultation

A patient becomes unresponsive. You are uncertain if a pulse is present. The rhythm shown here is seen on the cardiac monitor—3rd degree AV block. An IV is in place. Which action do you take next?

Start high-quality CPR

Your patient is not responsive and is not breathing. You can palpate a carotid pulse. Which action do you take next?

Start rescue breathing

A patient with possible STEMI has ongoing chest discomfort. What is a contraindication to nitrate administration?

Use of a phosphodiesterase inhibitor within the previous 24 hours

A 35 year old woman presents with a chief complaint of palpitations. She has no chest discomfort, SOB, or lightheadedness. Her BP is 128/78. Which intervention is indicated first?

Vagal maneuvers

What action minimizes the risk of air entering the victim's stomach during bag-mask ventilation?

Ventilating until you see the chest rise