Artificial coma after a heart attack
In the event of a heart attack, the heart muscle is undersupplied with oxygen, possibly leading to cardiac arrest.After such a heart attack, as a result of which the person affected may have had to be resuscitated, the heart is still very weak and other organs, such as the brain, may also be damaged under the lack of oxygen as a result of the cardiac arrest. In order to avoid stress reactions of the body and to enable safe ventilation, the affected person can be put into an artificial coma. A further advantage of this artificial coma is that doctors can observe bodily functions, such as blood pressure and heart rate, more safely and influence them with medication.
Psychological stress, which can have a strong influence on bodily functions, can also be prevented by a deeper artificial coma. The body has the possibility to heal uncoupled from the outside world and to get used to the new situation, like a bypass or a pacemaker. If there has not been a cardiac arrest during the heart attack, an artificial coma after the heart attack is usually not necessary.
Artificial coma after surgery
After an operation there can be various reasons for an artificial coma. First, these reasons can be divided into two groups. The first group are the planned cases.
These are serious operations, such as operations on the brain or the heart, where it is clear even before the operation that the person concerned must be put into an artificial coma in order to recover fully. The second group of reasons relates to complications in normally less problematic operations. Especially in brain surgery, the artificial coma is necessary to prevent an increase in intracranial pressure.
Most other operations involve a reduction of the body’s stress response. Inflammations are prevented and strong fluctuations in blood pressure and other body values are limited. The advantage of surgery is that the anesthesia does not have to be re-introduced, but can simply be continued.
This reduces the risks at the beginning of the artificial coma. Ventilation is already safely possible and the patient already has access to medication. Furthermore, it is already known whether the patient can tolerate the anaesthetic drugs well, especially in the case of planned operations. The artificial coma can therefore be better adjusted and controlled.
