Drugs Used in Advanced Cardiac Life Support

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By Audrey Finkel Esposito
eHow Contributing Writer

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Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) includes several interventions in order to keep a patient alive who is having a dangerous or potentially fatal heart rhythm. Many of those interventions include drugs that are given both in the pre-hospital setting and in the emergency room. ACLS drugs are meant to keep patients alive, as well as protect heart function for later interventions. ACLS drug protocols are set by the American Heart Association, and reviewed every few years as new research appears. All emergency room nurses and doctors, as well as most paramedics, are required to learn and keep up with ACLS protocols.

Pre-hospital ACLS Drugs

Know that in the pre-hospital setting, paramedics can give several drugs used in Advanced Cardiac Life Support. These are given orally, by IV (through a needle in a vein), by IO (through a needle in the bone) or down a breathing tube. Unlike paramedics, EMTs are usually not allowed to give medication to patients in the ambulance, although in some geographic regions they are allowed to give aspirin and assist patients with prescribed nitroglycerin for chest pain.

Paramedics and ACLS Drugs

Understand that drugs used in Advanced Cardiac Life Support by paramedics include antiarrythmics such as adenosine, atropine, epinephrine, diltiazem, lidocaine, magnesium, vasopressin and verapamil. All of these drugs help patients with abnormal, potentially fatal or absent heart rhythms to regain a normal heartbeat. Which of these ACLS drugs are carried on an ambulance depend on the geographic region the paramedics are practicing.

More ACLS Drugs for Paramedics

Realize that drugs used in Advanced Cardiac Life Support by paramedics may also include aspirin, calcium, dopamine, lasix, morphine, oxygen and sodium bicarbonate. These drugs help patients who are suffering from chest pain or other symptoms related to potentially fatal heart problems.

ACLS Drugs in the Emergency Room

Know that when a patient requiring Advanced Cardiac Life Support arrives at the emergency room, he may receive other drugs that are not carried on ambulances due to cost or storage issues. They include ACE inhibitors or beta-blockers for blood pressure, amiodarone or digoxin for fatal heart rhythms, drugs that bust up clots in the heart, blood thinners to prevent further clogging of heart arteries and several other ACLS drugs.

Other ACLS Protocols

In addition to drugs used in Advanced Cardiac Life Support, the American Heart Association also has guidelines for other treatments for people in potentially fatal heart rhythms, including when to shock the heart, how to give effective CPR and how to recognize potentially fatal heart problems in children.