Heart failure first aid

First aid for heart failure is necessary even before the ambulance arrives. This will save a person's life and avoid the development of a stroke.

In heart failure, the cardiovascular system cannot provide normal blood circulation. This happens because the heart contracts very weakly, pushes a small amount of blood into the arteries, which is not enough for the normal functioning of the body.

With heart failure, a person can live for several decades, but an acute attack can occur at any time.

First aid for heart failure

This problem often occurs in elderly people, so it is extremely important to know the rules for providing assistance so as not to witness someone's death. In this situation, a person's life depends on how correctly assistance will be provided before the arrival of a car with doctors.

In acute form of heart failure of the left ventricle, the following symptoms can be distinguished:

• hard breath;
• the impossibility of being in a supine position;
• bluing of the skin of the face;
• the skin becomes cold;
• severe cough with phlegm;
• lowering blood pressure.

In acute right ventricular failure, blood stagnation occurs in the veins of the large circle. At the same time, the veins in the neck swell, blood stagnation occurs in the liver. Because of this, there are sharp pains, and shortness of breath does not stop even at rest.

In this case, the person must be comfortably seated, preventing him from throwing his head back. If the patient has these symptoms, he should be helped without delay.

First aid is a necessary measure to save human life. In the presence of the above symptoms, you need to call emergency help and start rescue measures without delay.

Help should be provided not by one person, but by several (if possible).

If a heart attack happened on the street, it is necessary to attract the attention of passers-by.

Action algorithm

It is extremely important for heart failure to calm the patient at the very beginning, and then proceed with the following actions:

1. To seat the patient, it is convenient to fix his head in an elevated position. Being in a prone position in this situation is unacceptable.
2. Slowly lower the limbs of a person into warm water (its temperature should be at least 35 degrees). It is impossible to do this when you are outside.
3. Call the medical team, while informing the dispatcher that the patient has heart problems.
4. Remove tight clothing from the patient, loosen the collar of the shirt. Ensure normal breathing.
5. If a person becomes ill in the room, you should open the windows.
6. Talk to the patient and reassure him to avoid a panic attack.
7. If possible, measure the pressure. If the indicator is above 90 mm Hg. Art., give the patient a tablet of Nitroglycerin. Repeat the reception until the condition improves with an interval of 7 minutes. It is worth remembering that it is impossible to give more than 3 tablets.
8. After 15 minutes after the person is in a sitting position, a tight tourniquet should be applied to one thigh. Remember to change the position of the bandage every 30 minutes. The pressure force must be controlled.

Follow-up actions are carried out by medical professionals. But it is important to remember that pre-hospital measures are no less important than qualified assistance. Therefore, everyone should know the algorithm for providing assistance.

Resuscitation measures

It is extremely important to know how to act in a situation where medical assistance cannot be provided quickly.

The patient's condition may deteriorate rapidly, despite the provision of assistance, in this case, it is necessary to act as follows:

• lay the patient on a hard surface, placing a dense roller under his head;
• place your hands on the sternum, palms down;
• carry out artificial respiration;
• if rescue activities are carried out by one person, you need to act as follows, every 13-15 pressures on the sternum should alternate with three breaths into the nose;
• it is more convenient to perform the procedure together, then every 5 pressures are accompanied by 1 artificial breath;
• a positive result should be noticeable after 30 seconds. In this case, the patient's pupils will increase, the pulsation in the carotid artery will increase.

You can talk about improvements after an increase in blood pressure.

Even if resuscitation does not help, they should be repeated until the ambulance arrives.

First aid for heart failure, provided before the arrival of doctors, will help save the life of the patient. It is important to act correctly in order to avoid irreversible processes in the human body.

Acute heart failure in children

Heart failure can occur not only in the elderly, but also in children. Most often, this problem occurs in patients with heart defects. Often, heart failure is diagnosed in children who have had a sore throat, scarlet fever and other acute diseases with complications. Diagnosis in babies is complicated by the fact that they are not able to talk about what worries them. In this case, early diagnosis depends on the observation and knowledge of the parents.

 Symptoms in children differ from those in adults, we can distinguish:

• irritability;
• increased fatigue;
• shortness of breath after physical exertion;
• persistent cough;
• cyanosis of the lips;
• pallor of the skin.

The part of the disease progresses slowly, it is possible to diagnose it when tachycardia begins in children. The result of treatment depends on the degree of pathology: the earlier therapy is started, the more favorable the outcome will be.

Treatment for heart failure in children includes:

• in increasing myocardial contractility. Glycosides are administered intravenously. When the condition improves, the baby is transferred to pills;
• in reducing the load on the heart with the help of diuretics;
• in taking ACE inhibitors;
• in following a special diet. Food should be high in potassium.

The prognosis for the treatment of children is favorable, with the establishment and elimination of the cause of heart failure.

If a child has an attack of heart failure, you need to start providing first aid:

• the child should be in a semi-sitting position;
• tourniquets should be applied to his legs;
• call an ambulance;
• open the windows, providing air flow;
• place limbs in warm water.

Heart failure occurs not only among the elderly, but also in children. Many people die every year because of this problem. This happens because people do not know how to provide first aid. It should be remembered that saving a person's life is not difficult, you just need to know how to act in a certain situation.