3.1. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation
Resuscitation (or "reanimation" from Latin for re + animatio - recovery) is a set of procedures administered to a patient in terminal state and clinical death (cardiac and respiratory arrest). Resuscitation should be distinguished from intensive care, the purpose of which is to correct life-threatening disorders (hypovolemia, water-electrolyte imbalance, intoxication) developing in shock, coma, acute respiratory failure, etc.
Since hypoxia is the main cause of terminal state, the main task of resuscitation should be to ensure sufficient tissue oxygenation, and therefore, first of all - restoration of adequate breathing, blood circulation and oxygen saturation. To this end, it is necessary to restore cardiac and respiratory activity, as well as brain function, without which resuscitation procedures cannot be considered successful. Therefore, the resuscitation complex is often called c ardiopulmonary and brain resuscita-t i o n. However, the task of normalizing brain function itself is set after respiration and blood circulation are restored, so when aiding victims at the pre-hospital stage it makes sense to talk about c ardiopulmonary resuscitation. Moreover, techniques aimed at restoring both respiartion and heart beat are equally important and urgent.
In cardiopulmonary resuscitation, all actions must be performed precisely, effectively and, most importantly, immediately, so all procedures should be practiced until they become automatic. Failure to follow a certain sequence of manipulations or their incorrect implementation will reduce all life-saving efforts to nothing. Therefore, resuscitation guidelines are strict instructions that do not allow interpretations.