Epinephrine, the miracle hormone.


For this week’s blog I would like to talk about the role of epinephrine during cardiopulmonary resuscitation in the process of reversing cardiac arrest.

I’ll start of by giving you some background information on Epinephrine. I’m sure you’ve heard of bizarre cases where an average man was able to do some miraculous task like lift a car off of someone else or something in that nature. What allowed them to perform such an unthinkable act? Epinephrine. Their body produced enough Epinephrine which allowed him to do it in the heat of the moment. Epinephrine is a hormone that is produced by the brain in the medulla. During periods of intense fear/stress the medulla induces the secretion of epinephrine, giving us the ability to react appropriately in the situation at hand. You may have heard of the flight or fight response. When the fight or flight response is induced, epinephrine is secreted, giving the body a surge of energy it needs.

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation is an emergency procedure in which the heart and lungs are made to work by compressing the chest overlying the heart, forcing air into the lungs. The administration of epinephrine is integrated in the CPR process to induce cardiac activity. It is used for its vasoconstrictive effects and its ability to increase cardiac output. After being administered intravenously, it binds directly to alpha-1 adrenergic receptor of blood vessels which causes them to vasoconstrict, thus improving perfusion pressure to heart and brain. It also binds to beta-1 adrenergic receptor of the heart which improves cardiac output by increasing heart rate, increasing heart muscle contractibility, and increasing conductivity through the AV node. During the process of resuscitation, Epinephrine is administered every 3-5 minutes via intravenous push.

Epinephrine should be administered with caution. Administration epinephrine in the wrong scenario can worsen the condition of the patient, such as in the case of a myocardial infarction. When an individual is experiencing myocardial infarction, epinephrine’s ability to increase heart rate and raise blood pressure can increase myocardial oxygen demand thus worsening the patient’s condition. There are also various minor adverse reactions that an individual can experience after being administered epinephrine such include tremors, palpitations, headaches, and respiratory difficulties. Ultimately, the reward out ways the risk.







https://www.rxlist.com/adrenalin-side-effects-drug-center.htm

Comments

  1. UnknownNovember 9, 2017 at 4:31 PM

    So, I would like to start out by saying I was a bit confused at the beginning of your post because my brain did not put two and two together. For some reason, I totally forgot that epinephrine is the same thing as adrenaline. So, once my brain got its stuff together I was able to see the connection of your post. I watch shows like ChicagoMed all the time and always think of epinephrine separate from adrenaline, but the example about using epinephrine during CPR is a great one. I see it happen all the time in shows that are fiction and reality. It really is a miracle hormone. Great job on your post.

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  2. Caitlyn GaffneyNovember 9, 2017 at 4:35 PM

    This was a very interesting post. I remember professors touching a little on this in classes but from your post I learned a lot more. I had no idea you could actually administer epinephrine or how that helps the body. Great job!

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