Asystole
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| Asystole Classification and external resources | |
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| ECG lead showing Asystole (Flatline) | |
| ICD-10 | I46.0 |
| ICD-9 | 427.5 |
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Overview
Asystole is a state of no cardiac electrical activity, hence no contractions of the myocardium and no cardiac output or blood flow. Asystole is one of the conditions required for a medical practitioner to certify death.
In asystole, the heart will not respond to defibrillation because it is already depolarized, however some emergency physicians advocate a trial of defibrillation in case the rhythm is actually fine ventricular fibrillation, although little evidence exists to support the practice. Asystole is usually a confirmation of death as opposed to a heart rhythm to be treated, although a small minority of patients are successfully resuscitated, if the underlying cause is identified and treated immediately.
Differential diagnosis of underlying causes of asystole
Possible underlying causes include the Hs and Ts.[1][2][3]
- Hypovolemia
- Hypoxia
- Hydrogen ions (Acidosis)
- Hypothermia
- Hyperkalemia or Hypokalemia
- Hypoglycemia
- Tablets or Toxins (Drug overdose)
- Cardiac Tamponade
- Tension pneumothorax
- Thrombosis (Myocardial infarction)
- Thrombosis (Pulmonary embolism)
- Trauma (Hypovolemia from blood loss)
Diagnosis
Below are representative rhythm strips of asystole:
Treatment
It is important to exclude fine ventricular fibrillation in the patient presumed to have asystole. If VF is present, then cardioversion should be performed.
While the heart is asystolic, there is no blood flow to the brain unless CPR or internal cardiac massage (when the chest is opened and the heart is manually compressed) is performed, and even then, it is still a small amount. After many emergency treatments have been applied but the heart is still unresponsive, it is time to consider pronouncing the patient dead. Even in the rare case that a rhythm should reappear, if asystole has persisted for fifteen minutes or more the brain will have been deprived of oxygen long enough to cause brain death.
See also
References
- ↑ ACLS: Principles and Practice. p. 71-87. Dallas: American Heart Association, 2003. ISBN 0-87493-341-2.
- ↑ ACLS for Experienced Providers. p. 3-5. Dallas: American Heart Association, 2003. ISBN 0-87493-424-9.
- ↑ "2005 American Heart Association Guidelines for Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and Emergency Cardiovascular Care - Part 7.2: Management of Cardiac Arrest." Circulation 2005; 112: IV-58 - IV-66.
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Acknowledgement and Attribution Regarding Sources of Content
Some of the initial content on this page may be incorporated in part from copyleft sources in the public domain including wikis such as Wikipedia and AskDrWiki. Drug information for patients came from the The National Library of Medicine. Infectious disease information may have come from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Differential Diagnoses are drawn from clinicians as well as an amalgamation of 3 sources: 1.The Disease Database; 2. Kahan, Scott, Smith, Ellen G. In A Page: Signs and Symptoms. Malden, Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishing, 2004:3; 3. Sailer, Christian, Wasner, Susanne. Differential Diagnosis Pocket. Hermosa Beach, CA: Borm Bruckmeir Publishing LLC, 2002:7 .
