International Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing
Compression-Only Life Support (COLS) for Laypersons: A Practical Approach to Cardiac Emergency Management
Assistant Professor, Department of Nursing, Government College of Nursing, Karnataka Medical College and Research Institute, Hubballi, Karnataka, India
Abstract
Hemodynamic tissue perfusion is regulated by the pumping heart; the specialized cardiac cells have an autorhythm property that enables the heart to beat throughout life. When the pumping capability of the heart diminishes due to tissue ischemia, it leads to dysfunction. Pathological factors result in a decreased supply of blood to cardiac cells. Coronary circulation is at risk of stenosis due to spasm, plaque, or sclerosis, causing tissue hypoxia, injury, and necrosis. The ischemia of cardiac tissue leads to cardiac arrest, commonly known as a cardiac attack. Early intervention for a cardiac attack restores the vitality of the cardiac tissues. The approaches for cardiac revascularization involve drug administration of sodium nitrate, aspirin, statin, and clopidogrel, which are vasodilators, blood thinners, antiplatelets, and antithrombotics, and manual chest compression at a rate of 100–150 beats per minute. Chest compression can be performed by professionals and nonprofessionals. The professional performs cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), supporting ventilation and contraction of the heart; the nonprofessional can perform compression-only life support (COLS), which supports cardiac output and maintains cardiac and vital organ tissue perfusion. This review is a brief description of the concept of COLS, its method of administration, the standardized algorithm for the performance of COLS, and the concept of the first responder (a person who attends to a cardiac victim in an emergency) and their roles and responsibilities.
Keywords: Cardiac ischemia, coronary circulation, compression-only life support (COLS), cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), cardiac revascularization
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