👤 By the CinnaEMS Content Team🕐 Updated 2026-09-24🏷️ Cardiology & Resuscitation🔖 Free to read, print, and share
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Use this quick-reference guide to recognise, treat and hand over Cardiology & Resuscitation on the NREMT and on the call. Keep it handy during review and on exam day!
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📒 The 1-minute cheat sheet
🚩 Arrest
Compression fraction beats everything
Shockable: VF, pulseless VT
Not shockable: asystole, PEA
Resume immediately post-shock — no pulse check
📌 Etco2
Tracks compression quality
Abrupt rise → ROSC
Sudden zero → tube out or arrest
📌 12-Lead
II, III, aVF = inferior → check right-sided
V1-V2 septal · V3-V4 anterior · I, aVL, V5-V6 lateral
📚 Cardiology & Resuscitation — full study notes
The cheat sheet above is your quick recall card. These notes go deeper — what it is, what to do first, what changes the plan, and what to hand over.
Arrest management and the recognition of rhythms that will produce it. The examination theme is that perfusion is generated by compressions and lost by interruptions — nearly every question in the domain reduces to protecting compression fraction or recognizing when the rate itself is the problem.
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Key points
Understand these first
Compression fraction is the strongest modifiable factor in arrest outcome.
Shockable means VF or pulseless VT; asystole and PEA are not.
Resume compressions immediately after a shock — do not pause to check a pulse.
An abrupt ETCO2 rise during CPR suggests return of spontaneous circulation.
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Nursing priorities
What to do, in order
Fit airway, access and rhythm checks around compressions.
In PEA, hunt the reversible cause while compressions continue.
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Red flags — report now
Escalate immediately
Hypotension or altered mentation with a fast rate
Inferior ST elevation — check the right side
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Patient teaching
What patients must know
A stunned myocardium rarely produces a palpable pulse the instant a shock works.
❓ Cardiology & Resuscitation: NREMT FAQs
What are the priority actions for Cardiology & Resuscitation in the field?
Fit airway, access and rhythm checks around compressions. In PEA, hunt the reversible cause while compressions continue.
What findings in Cardiology & Resuscitation change your plan or your transport decision?
Hypotension or altered mentation with a fast rate. Inferior ST elevation — check the right side.
What do I need to know about Cardiology & Resuscitation for the NREMT?
Compression fraction is the strongest modifiable factor in arrest outcome. Shockable means VF or pulseless VT; asystole and PEA are not. Resume compressions immediately after a shock — do not pause to check a pulse. An abrupt ETCO2 rise during CPR suggests return of spontaneous circulation.
What should the crew communicate or document for Cardiology & Resuscitation?
A stunned myocardium rarely produces a palpable pulse the instant a shock works.
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Quick Tip
Compression fraction is the strongest modifiable factor in arrest outcome.