Final answer:
In cases of post-cardiac arrest where a patient is unresponsive, controlled hypothermia or defibrillation may be initiated. Controlled hypothermia reduces the metabolic rate to decrease the heart's workload, while defibrillation provides an electrical shock to restore normal heart rhythm.
Step-by-step explanation:
If a patient is post cardiac arrest and does not follow commands, medical professionals may initiate therapeutic interventions to stabilize the patient and reduce further damage to the heart and other organs. One such intervention is controlled hypothermia, where a physician induces coma and lowers the patient's body temperature to about 91 degrees for 24 hours. This process slows the patient's metabolic rate, thereby lessening the heart's workload and reducing blood flow requirements to the organs.
In situations where the heart's electrical activity is severely disrupted, a response such as defibrillation might be necessary. Defibrillation involves delivering a controlled electrical charge to the heart. For instance, during open-heart surgery, if a defibrillator is required to bring a patient out of cardiac arrest, and the resistance of the path is 500 ohms with a needed current of 10.0 mA, the voltage that should be applied is calculated using Ohm's law (V = I x R), equating to 5 volts (V = 0.01 A x 500 Ω).