Medical Emergency in the Dental Surgery 2026 -Part 2 – CPR update
Doing CPR is not easy. There’s the stress of doing it. Finding the correct site to do the compressions. How hard you need to compress. How fast you need to go. Not easy.
In our medical emergency training, there was a new addition to a training monitor that ascertained the effectiveness of your compressions on “George” the patient.
On the monitor it shows the amount of blood that fills the heart chamber and the amount that is compressed out to go to the brain. The lesson is the release is as important as the compression. Blood has to come in as well as go out. You need to have a controlled rhythm. Not easy under stress. Counting helps.
So, CPR is to keep the blood flowing to the brain to supply it with oxygen. Now there is the residual oxygen in the blood before the patient stopped breathing. So, we will do things to clear the airway and then open and maintain the airway. Then, via an air bag, add more oxygen to the blood in tune with the compressions.
But this is the real reason for keeping the brain alive –
The brain needs to have activity so that IT can start the heart beating correctly.
The defibrillator shocks the heart from an abnormal electrical activity. This action stops any heart rhythm which causes a feedback loop to the brain for it to restart the heart rhythm in a normal pattern.
That’s why avoiding four minutes without oxygen to the brain is important for survival. It’s the brain that restarts life and we do everything we can for this stimulus to occur from the brain.
(An important side note, CPR is keeping the heart muscle alive as well via the coronary arteries).
Is the defibrillator the answer to a perceived cardiac arrest?
No, doing continual chest compressions is the answer.
Remember, the brain restarts the heart so we need to keep it alive.
The defibrillator is a great device but its only role is to detect if a heart rhythm is shockable and that’s it!
Yes, there are unshockable heart rhythms whose prognosis for survival is poor. The defibrillator needs some electrical activity in the heart to shock it. The shock stops the heart rhythm, which stimulates the brain to send a signal to restart the heart with a normal heart rhythm, all going well.
Once the shock is delivered, chest compressions continue straight way!
Don’t Stop!
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Next week
Medical Emergency in the Dental Surgery 2026 - Part 3 - Oxygen update