Heart Attack First Response: Recognising Signs and Acting Fast (Online / Remote)
1Summary
In a heart attack, minutes decide outcomes. The term covers every case where the heart stops functioning properly, whether through relaxation-phase arrest or ventricular fibrillation, leaving the heart muscle unable to pump blood and produce a measurable arterial pressure. It is most often triggered by a blood clot blocking a coronary artery, damaging part of the heart muscle and, in some cases, stopping it completely. From that point, responders have only a few minutes before the brain's highly oxygen-sensitive nerve cells start to suffer permanent damage, which is why immediate, correct first aid matters more than almost anything else in that moment.
This training information is provided by the Arab British Fellowship Training Academy.
2Objectives and target group
How Participants Benefit From This Programme:
- Recognise the causes of cardiopulmonary arrest and act on early warning signs.
- Apply the three simultaneous priorities of emergency cardiac response.
- Perform correct solo-responder CPR technique.
- Understand lifestyle and medical measures that lower heart attack risk.
This Course Is Designed For:
- People seeking to specialize in hospital management, from medical backgrounds.
- Students and graduates of medical and health colleges and institutes.
3Course Content
Module 1: Recognising a Cardiac Emergency
- Common causes of cardiopulmonary arrest: heart disease and heart attack, respiratory failure, electric shock, poisoning, drowning or choking, stroke, and severe bleeding or shock.
- Warning signs that precede an attack: shortness of breath, sweating, numbness, and pain, alongside nausea and vomiting.
Module 2: Hands-On Response — CPR and Immediate Aid
- The three simultaneous priorities: restarting the heart manually or with a defibrillator, securing oxygen through artificial respiration, and stabilising with medication.
- Solo-responder technique: correct hand placement, a compression rate of around 60 per minute, and one breath for every five compressions.
Module 3: Reducing the Risk Before It Happens
- Lifestyle factors that lower heart attack risk: quitting smoking, maintaining a healthy weight, regular exercise, and managing psychological stress.
- Preventive medication and periodic checkups, including blood-thinning therapy for high-risk patients and people with a prior heart attack.