Question

A 49 yo says that he has had chest discomfort and excessive sweating for the past 25 minutes. Within the first 10 minutes, on the basis of the patient showing symptoms suggestive of MI, what will your first actions include?

Provide prehospital notification to the receiving hospital
Administer aspirin
if considering prehospital fibrinolysis, use the fibrinolytic checklist
assess ABC
Obtain EKG
consider oxygen, nitroglycerin, and morphine if needed

Answer 1

Based on the patient's symptoms suggestive of MI, my first action would be to assess ABC (airway, breathing, and circulation) to ensure the patient's airway is open, breathing is adequate, and circulation is stable. Then, I would obtain an EKG to confirm the diagnosis of MI. If the EKG shows evidence of MI, I would administer aspirin and provide prehospital notification to the receiving hospital. If considering prehospital fibrinolysis, I would use the fibrinolytic checklist. I would also consider oxygen, nitroglycerin, and morphine if needed.