The management of myocardial infarction revolves around saving as much myocardium as possible. The reason why this is important is that it helps to avoid complications which may develop at later stages. To achieve this, the following compounds are provided with immediate effect: nitroglycerin, aspirin as well as oxygen. Prior to helping a victim of a circulatory emergency or any other emergency with medication you should know the 5 rights of medication and consult a physician. The information posted on this blog is for information purposes only. Take a first aid course to learn to recognize and manage serious cardiac emergencies.
[youtube url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlIMNry6Su0″ width=”200″ height=”200″]What is the purpose of aspirin?
Aspirin is well known to decrease mortality significantly, and this is why it plays a crucial role in the management of myocardial infarction. Take note however, that it should only be administered in patients who are not allergic to its active ingredients. Aspirin works by preventing the formation of clots that block blood vessels. The preferred mode of administration is orally to ensure fast absorption.
What is the purpose of nitroglycerin?
Nitroglycerin works by alleviating the symptoms that are linked to angina pectoris. This has been linked to reduced myocardial stress which plays a central role in the management of the condition. This also has the result of reducing the oxygen stress exerted by the heart. Sub lingual mode of administration is preferred, although some patients receive their dosage through the use of a spray.
Reperfusion in the management of myocardial infarction
The use of reperfusion has become common place in handling patients with myocardial infarction owing to its efficiency. The idea behind this form of therapy for the condition is that patients who have acute myocardial infarction are deemed to possess a clot in the coronary artery. For such patients, immediate reperfusion is carried out using any of the following methods:
- Percutaneous coronary intervention, abbreviated as PCI.
- Thrombolytic therapy
- If the above two fail, then the recommended therapy is surgical in nature, the bypass surgery.
Is there any emergency in the management of myocardial infarction?
The sad thing as far as this condition is concerned is that when a patient exhibits the signs for the first time, the people around them will often wait for a couple of hours before taking action- a couple of hours that could be the very difference between life and death. For this simple reason, yes there is an emergency as far as the management of this condition is concerned.
In this case, what is one required to do? Calling for help is the first thing that you must do. This plays a significant role because ventricular fibrillation is the first point of action. The second option for the treatment of the condition goes a long way in preventing continual damage to the heart muscle. What’s more, emergency services vary remarkably as far as the treatment options availed are concerned. To put this in perspective, some services will provide appropriate first aid as well as early defribillarion. More advanced emergency services avail ECG, nitroglycerin, aspirin, oxygen as well as morphine. Whichever the case, it is important that proper management of myocardial infarction is done if the patient is to increase their chances of survival.