asystole

Thân thiện

A doctor checks the monitor showing asystole.

Definition

1. Noun:
   • Cardiac arrest; absence of heart contractions: A medical condition characterized by the absence of systole, meaning the ventricles of the heart fail to contract. This results in no effective heartbeat, leading to a lack of blood circulation, oxygen deprivation, and, if not treated immediately, death.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • The patient was in asystole, showing a flat line on the cardiac monitor.
  • The paramedics confirmed asystole and began advanced life support measures.
  • The transition from ventricular fibrillation to asystole is a critical deterioration.

Advanced Usage

• "Fine ventricular fibrillation vs. asystole": A clinical distinction where a very weak, fine ventricular fibrillation can appear similar to asystole on an electrocardiogram (ECG), requiring careful assessment.
  • The team debated whether the rhythm was fine V-fib or true asystole.
• "Pulseless electrical activity (PEA) leading to asystole": Describes a sequence where the heart has electrical activity but no mechanical contraction, which can deteriorate into complete asystole.
  • The PEA rhythm deteriorated into asystole despite intervention.

Variants and Related Words

• Asystolic (adj): Pertaining to or characterized by asystole.
  • The asystolic rhythm was unresponsive to defibrillation.
• Cardiac arrest (n): The broader term for the sudden cessation of effective heart function, which can be caused by asystole, ventricular fibrillation, or other lethal rhythms.
• Flatline (n, informal): A colloquial term for asystole, referring to the flat line displayed on a heart monitor.

Synonyms

• Cardiac standstill: A synonym emphasizing the complete cessation of heart muscle activity.
• Ventricular asystole: A more specific term highlighting the failure of the ventricular chambers.

Related Medical Terms (Not Phrasal Verbs)

• Defibrillation: A treatment using an electric shock to restore a normal heart rhythm, which is not effective for true asystole.
• Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR): The emergency procedure performed when someone is in cardiac arrest, including asystole, to manually preserve brain function until further measures can be taken.

Học thuật

Noun

1. absence of systole; failure of the ventricles of the heart to contract (usually caused by ventricular fibrillation) with consequent absence of the heart beat leading to oxygen lack and eventually to death

Từ đồng nghĩa

• cardiac arrest
• cardiopulmonary arrest