History of cardiac arrest management

Abstract

Many methods of resuscitation have been described throughout history. Examples include flagellation of the victim to stimulate a response, anal insufflation of tobacco smoke, and rolling the victim back and forth on a barrel. The foundations of current care began around the 18th century with the description of mouth-to-mouth and cardiac massage. The drugs used today were discovered in 1772 for oxygen, 1900 for adrenaline and 1960 for amiodarone. At the end of the 1950s, the fundamentals of cardiopulmonary resuscitation were established with the description of the first defibrillation by Maurice Zoll and then the algorithm of resuscitation by Peter Safar. Since, the role of ventilation, which was predominant at that period, has been reduced in favor of circulation with chest compressions. The out-of-hospital medical care was initiated by Louis Lareng in 1962 with the foundation of the first SAMU in Toulouse. Since 2007, the use of automated external defibrillators (AED) by non-medical personnel is authorized in France. Currently, European guidelines are updated every 5 years.