Continuing Professional Development: The causes and paramedic management of bradycardia in the out-of-hospital setting

Overview This Continuing Professional Development (CPD) module will outline the normal anatomy and physiology of the heart before considering the paramedic approach to causes and management of bradycardia in the out-of-hospital setting. There are a number of self-directed activities to complete as you move through the article together with a list of further resources to expand your research. This article requires the reader to have a basic appreciation of normal cardiovascular anatomy and physiology, and an appreciation of the general approach to assessing and managing patients in the out-of-hospital, emergency setting before completion. Learning Outcomes After completing this module you will be able to: • Define the normal anatomical and physiological cardiac processes involved in maintaining heart rate and cardiac output. • Define bradycardia in adults. • Identify the causes of bradycardia in adults. • Outline how bradycardia is managed by paramedics.