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CASE REVIEW ➊ ➊ Patient John Smith, time 1233 hours. ➋ Patient John Smith, time 1240 hours. EKG interpretation is acute MI. and a regular pulse. The paramedic tries to check the man's blood pressure but has trouble because the ambulance is bouncing quite a bit. He asks the driver to pull over. "We're going to stop for a moment and get a good blood pressure and another 12-lead EKG to see if anything has changed," he tells the patient. "I can't do either well while the ambulance is moving." The patient's wife is in the car behind them and stops also. As the paramedic connects the lead wires back onto the patient's 12-lead patches, the patient says, "The pain is getting worse, and I feel a little short of breath again!" The 12-lead spits out a piece of paper, and the paramedic interprets the results. He looks up and speaks calmly to avoid alarming the patient. "Sir, this EKG looks very different than the one at the house, and indicates you are having a blockage in one of your arteries," he says. "Your blood pressure and heart rhythm are fne, so I'm going to give you some medicine for your pain, and instead of going to the community hospital, we're going to proceed very safely to a different hospital that has special services available for heart problems. It is a few minutes farther but has the specialists and facilities you might need. I'll have our EMT tell your wife what we are doing and why, and that you're still stable. We'll ask her not to follow us, because we'll be using our lights and siren to make sure we don't get caught in this traffc, but we'll proceed safely and comfortably for you." The EMT and paramedic confer, EARN YOUR DEgREE ONLINE IN HEALtH cARE ADmINIstRAtION Concentration in EmERgENcY mEDIcAL sERvIcEs mANAgEmENt WHY csU? •TextbooksProvided •NoApplicationFee ThroughCSUBookGrant •FlexibleStartDates •NoACT,SAT,GRE, •CareerServicesAvailable GMATRequired Online Degrees. Afordable tuition. superior service. www.columbiasouthern.edu/EmsWorld | 800.977.3771 Visit our website at www.ColumbiaSouthern.edu/Disclosure for information about gainful employment including cost of attendance, on-time graduation rates, occupational opportunities, median student debt and other important information about CSU programs. For More Information Circle 17 on Reader Service Card EMSWORLD.com | JUNE 2013 21