Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (cpr) for animals

CPR is defined as cardiopulmonary resuscitation, and is performed in cases when an animals breathing and heart rate has stopped, otherwise known as cardiopulmonary arrest. It essentially involves manually performing the acts of breathing and heart pumping in an animal that is unable to do so for some reason, and is most consistently successful if performed within 10 minutes after an arrest has occurred(Bassert & McCurnin, 2010).

The first step for performing CPR is to listen for the presence of a heartbeat in the animal. If present, you should clear all vomit or blockage from the windpipe and place an endotracheal tube into an animal and secure it near the upper jaw with gauze(Bassert & McCurnin, 2010).

Then either 100% oxygen or manual breaths can be delivered to the animal though said pipe. In the case you’re using the manual breath method it is important to make note that the animals chest expands, and that they are able to release air by exhaling after each given breath(Bassert & McCurnin, 2010). In the case that you do not have proper medical equipment for tubing, you can lay some animals like a dog on a flat surface, pull their tongue forward with their mouth sealed and breathe down their nostrils to deliver air(“ New guidelines for CPR in dogs, cats”, 2012).

In the circumstances that the animal has no heartbeat, you instead start with chest compressions before establishing an airway. The effectiveness of which can be measured via Doppler pressure probes or measuring tidal carbon dioxide(Bassert & McCurnin, 2010). You typically want to perform 100-120 chest compression per minute, with a breath coming at about every 15th compression(“ New guidelines for CPR in dogs, cats”, 2012).

A crash cart is a mobile storage unit used for emergencies, which typically contains amenities useful for resuscitations, including defibrillators, drugs, and an electrocardiogram(Bassert & McCurnin, 2010). Defibrillators are devices that deliver electric shocks to the heart, in order of depolarize those muscles and hopefully reestablish a normal heart electrical impulse. Drugs commonly seem on a crash cart include epinephrine, atropine, lidocaine 2%, Bicarbonate, Solu delta, dexamethasone, along with many others(Bassert & McCurnin, 2010). Most drugs found on the cart are typically useful for providing life support on the cardiovascular system, aiding in rapid intubation or treating other common medical problems. The electrocardiogram is a device that displays the electrical activity of the heart, via a series of electrodes connected to the skin.