Immediately following the onset of cardiac arrest, brain cells begin to die after:

• 1–2 minute

• 4–6 minutes

• 3–5 minutes

• 6–10 minutes

Resuscitation, when started during which phase of cardiac arrest, provides the patient with the best chance of survival?

• Circulatory

• Metabolic

• Electrical

• Bradycardic

A patient arrests at 1313 hours. E-911 is activated and dispatches an ambulance at 1315 hours. The ambulance arrives on scene at 1319 hours, and the EMTs reach the patient’s side and start care at 1321 hours. After transporting the patient, the patient is transferred to the ED staff at 1346 hours. Based on that information, which of these statements would be considered correct?

• Down time is 8 minutes

• Total down time is 31 minutes

• Down time is 25 minutes

• Total down time is 6 minutes

You have been asked to describe the American Heart Association’s Chain of Survival to a group of Emergency Medical Responder students. Which of these is the best description of this concept?

• A) A sequence of care that provides instructions on how to use an AED

• B) A sequence of events that, if enacted quickly, gives the patient the best chance of surviving cardiac arrest

• C) A treatment plan that helps to prevent and treat cardiac arrest in the general population

• D) A treatment plan, that if followed, almost guarantees the survival of a patient with cardiac arrest

When presenting information on cardiac arrest and automated external defibrillation to a community group, a man asks why people should perform CPR prior to the arrival of EMS if the EMS responders will provide a shock after they arrive. Your response would be:

• Immediate CPR can prolong the period in which the heart can be successfully shocked into a perfusing rhythm following cardiac arrest.

• In many cases, CPR can reverse the cardiac arrest, making a shock by the AED unnecessary since the shock may further damage the heart.

• In the American Heart Association's Chain of Survival, CPR is the most important link in surviving cardiac arrest that occurs outside the hospital.

• CPR is needed to keep blood flowing through the body so the EMTs can give the patient IV medications when they arrive.

Which cardiac arrest rhythm is the AED designed to shock?

• Asystole

• Pulseless electrical activity

• Ventricular fibrillation

• Bradycardia

The EMT should request advanced life support (ALS) backup for a patient in cardiac arrest because:

• Paramedics must be present for the EMT to use the AED

• Patients with cardiac arrest must be transported by ALS personnel

• ALS care is superior to basic life support care, even when the AED is available

• ALS treatment decreases the possibility of the patient going back into cardiac arrest once successful defibrillation has occurred

The AED should never be applied to a patient who is not in cardiac arrest because some patients in:

• Ventricular tachycardia may still have a pulse

• Ventricular fibrillation may still be conscious and alert

• Ventricular fibrillation may still have a pulse

• Asystole may still have a pulse

Which of these is considered a benefit of the automated external defibrillator?

• The ease and speed with which it can be used

• Elimination of the need for a primary assessment

• Its ability to identify and confirm cardiac arrest

• The need for little-to-no CPR training to use the device

Which link of the American Heart Association's Chain of Survival must occur first, if a patient is to survive cardiac arrest?

• High-quality CPR

• Early defibrillation

• Activation of the Emergency Response

• Advanced resuscitation