Author: admin

You get down at the metro station, started walking to your office space, and all of a sudden, a fiery accident happened in front of your eyes. Panicked! You with other people surrounding the incident rushed towards the victims and out of panic, most of you would get confused about what to do or what not to do. Only 2-3 out of 50 people mob will strike and call for an ambulance or call an emergency medical service (EMS). As cited in Hindustan Times, a recent study conducted by Emergency Management and Research Institute (EMRI), an estimated 300,000 emergency cases, medical and non-medical, are recorded in the country every day, with 80% of these being medical, and 9.5% of the population being affected by an emergency annually.

It’s quite visible that being a first responder is the need of the state. Let’s discuss here who the first responder is and how you can be one of them.

Who exactly is a first responder?
The first responder is a trained individual who in an emergency, both medical and non-medical make sure that immediate support services are being offered to the needy until an ambulance arrives.
These are the person with specialized training and among the first to arrive and provide assistance at the scene of an emergency, such as an accident, natural disaster, or even a terrorist attack.

First responders typically include police officers, firefighters, paramedics, and other trained individuals and volunteers connected with some organizations providing emergency services. These individuals strive to provide basic medical care to a patient and help the people out in an emergency to access basic and first aid treatment in an instant.

How to become a First Responder?
First Responder is a higher level of training, which usually takes 40 hours. The training is significantly more extensive than basic first aid. To be a certified first responder to provide pre-hospital care, an individual needs to undergo certification programs which are usually conducted at prime and private medical institutes and hospitals. These institutes conduct first responder and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training programs.  Whereas there’s a CERT training which will prepare you to help respond to area crises where first-responders are too busy to handle everything.

Roles of a first responder
Roles of a first responder can be providing first aid, CPR, manual stabilization of fractures, and assisting in the administration of basic medications such as auto-injectors, oral glucose, inhalers, preliminary medications, etc. They’ll immediately provide basic life-saving aid before any advanced life support arrives. Also, if any patient receives medical attention within first one hour of the incident or initiation of medical illness, which is considered to be crucial for the diagnosis of the patient, the outcome would be much better for the patient. In medical terms, this period is addressed as Golden Hour.

As mentioned, first responders are trained to tackle emergency situations. Although the types of emergencies will differ on a case-to-case basis, there is a similar pattern in their approach:

• Taking command or being in charge of the accident scene.
• They detect the presence of hazards and begin to identify them.
• They begin to remove, evacuate, and separate otherwise property from the body of the personnel.
• They will conduct first aid and perform necessary diagnoses such as checking up for a pulse, blood pressure, applying glucose, etc. in case an individual is unconscious.
• Further, they will look for an individual’s identity, and start searching for identity cards, mobile phones or other electronic devices, tags on their baggage, wallet, and so on.
• They seek additional resources as needed from the vicinity.

While the first responder performs this operation, he will ask nearby individuals to accompany him for help and request them to call for advanced medical support, book an ambulance, and likewise.

Bottomline
Although basic first aid is great and always helpful, the first responder is one level up. Entities like Medulance has a team of trained and skilled individuals including first responders who attend the emergencies with urgent priority, especially to the one who book ambulance in Delhi and nearby areas. It would be great if more youths and citizens get themselves certified as First Responders, and be available responsibly in such events.

When does a heart attack occur?

A heart attack, or Myocardial infarction (MI), occurs when an artery that carries blood and oxygen to the heart is completely blocked. When this happens, the heart muscle cell becomes starved of oxygen and nutrients and the cells begin to die, damaging the heart. The damage can happen within minutes. But it can be lessened if the patient seeks emergency treatment right away. This happens because plaque (made up of fat, cholesterol, and other substances) narrows the arteries carrying oxygen-rich blood to the heart. This slow process is known as atherosclerosis. When a plaque in a heart artery breaks, a blood clot forms around the plaque. This blood clot can block the blood flow to the heart muscle. When the heart muscle is starved of oxygen and nutrients, it is called ischemia. Ischemia causes damage to the heart muscle which is eventually called a heart attack or myocardial infarction (MI).

Common myths attached to heart attack:

• Heart failure means stopping the heartbeat
• Every Chest pain is a heart attack
• No cholesterol problems until you’re middle-aged
• Heart failure and heart attacks are one and the same

Common warning signs of a heart attack:

Don’t wait to get help if you experience any of these heart attack warning signs. Symptoms of a heart attack can vary from person to person.  Although some heart attacks are sudden and intense, most start slowly, with mild pain or discomfort. Pay attention to your body — and asked the nearby person to book an ambulance for immediate help. Here are some of the commonly observed signs of a heart attack:

• Most heart attacks involve discomfort in the chest that lasts more than a few minutes, or that goes away and comes back. It can feel like pressure, squeezing, or fullness.
• The pain is most often in the center of the chest. It may also be felt in the upper body such as the neck, lower jaw, back, arms (especially the right one), and upper abdomen.
• Shortness of breath with or without chest discomfort.
• Cold Sweating, Nausea, or vomiting
• Dizziness or lightheadedness
• Changes in mental status, weakness, or fatigue, especially in older adults. (Most common in women)

First-aid first:

If you find any of the above symptoms in someone near you, call medulance immediately for easier and faster transportation to the hospital. Using simple location-based mapping, medulance  seeks to provide you with quality ambulance services in Delhi that are easier, faster, and quicker than anyone else. Meanwhile, follow the below-mentioned steps as a part of the first aid:

• Make sure the person is in a comfortable position (sitting down on the floor, leaning against a wall or chair), and try to keep calm.
• Loosen up any tight clothing of the patient.
• Try to ask if the person is on any medication for chest pains, such as nitroglycerin, for a known heart condition, and help them take it.

Heart Attack recovery process:

While the majority of people survive their first heart attack, there are some essential lifestyle changes that one should adopt. Here are some common treatments and practices you should follow during the recovery stage apart from medications:

• Treatments for heart attack patients include medications, lifestyle changes and, in some cases, surgical procedures.
• Rest is important after a heart attack, but it’s just as important for you to participate in recreation and begin making physical exercise a part of your daily routine. A good night’s rest is especially important for heart attack patients. Proper and timely rest becomes important for heart patients.
• Once you’ve had a heart attack, you’re at higher risk for another one. If you’re having any chest pains, visit your doctor.
• There are exercises and medications that can help ease or prevent the pain.
• Avoid eating tobacco, and smoking
• Ensure regular physical activity and good nutrition for a healthy heart.

A healthy diet, and making changes in your lifestyle would work in longevity and are some of the most important things you can do to prevent heart attack and heart disease.