Final answer:
CPR is crucial for maintaining circulation and oxygen delivery to vital organs in patients with ventricular fibrillation (V-Fib), ensuring tissue viability until defibrillation is possible to correct the heart rhythm.
Step-by-step explanation:
CPR provides critical blood flow to the brain and vital organs in a patient experiencing ventricular fibrillation (V-Fib), maintaining life until defibrillation can be performed to restore a normal heart rhythm.
Ventricular fibrillation (V-Fib) is a life-threatening condition where the heart's electrical activity becomes disordered, causing it to pump ineffectively. In such emergencies, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) becomes a lifesaving technique. When the heart stops beating effectively during V-Fib, delivering chest compressions through CPR manually pumps blood, preventing irreversible brain damage that can occur within minutes due to lack of oxygen. CPR keeps oxygenated blood circulating to vital organs and can buy critical time until advanced life support, including the use of an automated external defibrillator (AED), can be administered to try and reset the heart's normal rhythm.
An AED delivers an electric shock to the heart, which can halt the erratic electrical activity of V-Fib, enabling the heart's natural pacemaker cells to regain control and reestablish a normal heartbeat. In cases of cardiac arrest due to V-Fib, immediate CPR combined with rapid defibrillation greatly increases the patient’s chances of survival and recovery.