In a Heartbeat

A Wilderness EMT responding to a patient complaining of chest pain must understand cardiac physiology in order to appropriately assess and treat a potential cardiac emergency, such as angina or myocardial infarction. Chest pain can be caused by a variety of non-cardiac events including pulmonary embolism, pneumonia, hyperventilation syndrome, and rib injury as well, but classic symptoms of a cardiac emergency include a persistent “crushing” or “squeezing” pain in the chest that may radiate to the arms or jaw, shortness of breath, anxiety, nausea and vomiting, lightheadedness, and pale sweaty skin. The patient’s heartbeat may become weak or irregular.

To help students understand how electricity can be used to “defibrillate” a heart that’s stopped beating, WMI instructor Brian Barrett dissects an antelope heart (similar in size and structure to a human heart) and discusses the mechanisms that coordinate a heartbeat.

Heart Dissection from John Hovey on Vimeo.