List of First Aid and general medical terms and abbreviations

Medical Conditions

• Cardiac Arrest
  • When a heart stops beating effectively and does not pump blood around the body. Death will follow unless this can be reversed (e.g.) by using a Defibrillator. See also Heart Attack
• Heart Attack
  • When part of the heart stops working due to a blockage in the artery that supplies blood to that part of the heart. The rest of the heart can continue pumping and the condition can be reversed if appropriate drugs or surgery happens in time. A Heart attack can also lead on to a Cardiac Arrest

Medical Equipment

• Defibrillator
  • A device that delivers a controlled electrical shock to a heart that is in Cardiac Arrest in an attempt to revert it to a normal rhythm. Some Cardiac Arrest Rhythms are not shockable and even those that are shockable may not be shocked back, however a Defibrillator is the best chance that there is to restore a normal heart rhythm and the sooner that it is applied (first few minutes), the higher the chance of survival