Precordial Thump (Paperback)

High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! The precordial thump is a medical procedure that used to be used by healthcare professionals in the initial response to a witnessed cardiac arrest when no defibrillator is immediately available. The procedure is outside the scope of first-aid treatment for cardiac arrest, and requires, at minimum, training in advanced cardiac life support (ACLS). ACLS does not currently recommend that healthcare professionals use this technique. To perform a precordial thump, a highly trained provider strikes a single, very carefully-aimed blow with the fist to the center of the patient's sternum. The intent is to interrupt a potentially-life threatening rhythm, should one be developing. The thump is thought to produce an electrical depolarization of 2 to 5 joules. However, it is effective only if used at the onset of ventricular fibrillation or pulseless ventricular tachycardia, and so should be used only when the arrest is witnessed or monitored.