Note: Your progress in watching these videos WILL NOT be tracked. These training videos are the same videos you will experience when you take the full ProACLS program. You may begin the training for free at any time to start officially tracking your progress toward your certificate of completion.
In order for you to be a functional ACLS healthcare provider, you must have the basic knowledge and skills to recognize and treat patients with acute coronary syndrome, or ACS for short.
In this lesson, along with the next lesson, you'll be learning how to assess and treat the ACS patient following the latest recommendations and guidelines. And at the end of the lesson, we'll provide you with a brief Word on the goals of therapy for patients with acute coronary syndromes, along with EMS and hospital-based components.
An initial 12 lead ECG is used as part of the identification process for all ACS cases. The three ECG categories for ACS include the following:
STEMI (ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction) will be the focus of this section as it is the most time-sensitive for reperfusion therapies and can also limit the amount and extent of the myocardial damage.
Although 12 lead ECG interpretation is beyond the scope of this ACLS provider course, some practitioners who are already ACLS certified will have already been trained in the interpretation and reading of 12 lead ECGs.
For those particular healthcare providers, this ACS case summarizes identification and treatment of STEMI patients.
Pro Tip: Remember, the main goal of a STEMI acute coronary syndrome is to reperfuse myocardial tissue that is being damaged by the blockage.
Reperfusion may involve the use of coronary angiography with a balloon, angioplasty, and angioplasty with a stent, also known as PCI –percutaneous coronary intervention.
When PCI is used as the initial reperfusion treatment for STEMI, it's referred to as a primary PCI. Treatments other than primary PCI include, but are not limited to:
The primary goals of therapy for patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACS) are to:
Prompt diagnosis and treatment offers the greatest potential benefit for myocardial salvage. Therefore, it is imperative that all healthcare providers are able to recognize patients with potential acute coronary syndromes in order to initiate evaluation, appropriate treatment, and management as quickly and effectively as possible.
EMS components include:
Hospital-based components include: