Quicker medical treatment -- gunshot to heart?!
Question: A young male was shot in the left chest, with the bullet damaging the right atrium and ventricle, and the aorta. I don't know the extent of damage. He was taken to the ER in perhaps 4 minutes, at which time he was unresponsive and without a pulse. The ER then wasted 4 minutes before starting treatment. They then tried some things (e.g. heart massage), but the boy died, and he was never responsive and did not regain a pulse. My question is whether the 4 minutes lost at the ER would likely have made a difference; whether they likely could have saved his life if they started treatment sooner. I don't need generic info about the importance of quick tx, but rather some very specific guidance about whether in your experience or in any literature there is any indication that losing this time (roughly minutes 5-8 following wound) likely made a difference. A secondary question is whether he would likley have had brain damage if he had survived. I don't have many more details yet.
Answers: A young male was shot in the left chest, with the bullet damaging the right atrium and ventricle, and the aorta. I don't know the extent of damage. He was taken to the ER in perhaps 4 minutes, at which time he was unresponsive and without a pulse. The ER then wasted 4 minutes before starting treatment. They then tried some things (e.g. heart massage), but the boy died, and he was never responsive and did not regain a pulse. My question is whether the 4 minutes lost at the ER would likely have made a difference; whether they likely could have saved his life if they started treatment sooner. I don't need generic info about the importance of quick tx, but rather some very specific guidance about whether in your experience or in any literature there is any indication that losing this time (roughly minutes 5-8 following wound) likely made a difference. A secondary question is whether he would likley have had brain damage if he had survived. I don't have many more details yet.
damage to right atrium alone means loss of normal sinus pacemaking activity...his heart stopped functioning the moment he was shot.
besides, gunshot injuries to heart means u r looking for cardiac tamponade,myocardial infarction ,cardiogenic shock,pericardial effusions,pneumothorax,hemodynamical stablility,clot formation,acute cardiac failure...etc
its among the most lethal injuries with immediate fatality rate of abt 70% to 80%.so i dont think tht those 4 - 5mins wud hav done anythn...but still miracles happens all the time.
the brain went 4 minutes without oxygen, that can have adverse effects on the brain. if he ad survived he might have trouble with speech or motor coordination.
but thats some major damage and 4 minutes wouldnt make enough of a difference... it takes hours to repair a heart. those four minutes would not have gotten them far.
With this extensive damage to the heart those four minutes would not have made a difference. The aorta is the major vessel leaving the heart and he would have lost too much blood to have survived this injury. There is no medical treatment that could have sustained him enough to undergo surgery for this injury. What an awful tragedy. I am so sorry.