This document discusses medical emergencies and provides guidance on how to respond. It notes that television portrayals of medical emergencies are not always accurate. The best way to revive someone in cardiac arrest is through cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), which involves chest compressions at 100 per minute and artificial breathing to restart blood flow before brain damage occurs. CPR may be effective for drowning victims only after they have been removed from the water. In some cases, cold water submersion can preserve brain function even after prolonged submersion times.

1. What to do in a Medical Emergency
Most of us hope and pray the day will never come
that anyone else’s life depends on us. Although this
does not change the fact that they day may still come,
which means we should all be prepared for it. After
all, it happens often enough on television that it is
bound to happen in someone’s life someday, right?
We must first understand that medical emergencies
that we have seen on television are not the same as
real medical emergencies. For example, if someone in
a hospital is flat-lining, what do you expect them to
do? Based on the shows that I have seen, I would expect someone to revive him by using a defibrillator
and shocking him back to life, pronto. This would have the opposite effect intended, however.
Defibrillators are intended to be used to restart your heart when it starts going too fast.
Separating Fact from Fiction
You may also be under the impression that your mother, sister, wife, daughter, or you as a women
yourself will never have a heart attack because on television, the men are the only ones that are seen
being revived from this. That is because men are the only ones that are allowed to take their tops off in
television programs, thus diminishing the amount of women they can show being revived from heart
attacks.
The best way to revive someone that has just flatlined is to use CPR. It stands for cardiopulmonary
resuscitation and its purpose is to restart the blood
flow to prevent any brain damage. It must be
applied within six minutes of the patient losing
blood flow or it will be ineffective.
The first step is to apply chest compressions at least
two inches deep at a consistent rhythm of at least
100 a minute. Then, you must exhale into the
patient’s mouth to create artificial airflow. This may
restart their flow enough to start the heart to make it shockable.
Knowing the Essentials
The circumstances and treatment differ slightly for those whose hearts have stopped due to drowning.
CPR may only be started after the victim has been taken out of the water onto solid ground. Only then
will the process be effective. In these cases the victims will have water in their lungs, and when they
awake will have to spit that out.

2. If you are in an emergency situation and you see someone in unconscious in colder temperature waters,
CPR could still possibly save them. Once a child was rescued from drowning after being submerged for
over an hour in 37 degree Fahrenheit water. For whatever reason, the cold water preserves lives longer
and in this case, the child did not suffer from any brain damage.
Whatever the emergency, you will hope that when you or your loved one is taken to the emergency
room you have medical health insurance to cover any costs. And do everything in your power to
prevent anyone you know from having to be sent to the emergency where it might be too late.
Photo Credit: kenjonbro, NASA