Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) Intermediate Practice Exam

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Prepare for the Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) Intermediate Test with focused study methods including flashcards and multiple-choice questions. Practice with hints and detailed explanations to boost your readiness for the exam.

Each practice test/flash card set has 50 randomly selected questions from a bank of over 500. You'll get a new set of questions each time!

Practice this question and more.

Cardiac arrest following an electrical burn is most likely to occur if:

the electricity flows from hand to foot
the electricity flows from arm to arm
the electricity flows through the torso
the electricity flows from head to toe

The correct answer is: the electricity flows from arm to arm

Cardiac arrest following an electrical burn is most likely to occur when the electricity flows from arm to arm. This path of current can significantly impact the heart because it tends to direct the flow of electricity through the chest and across vital structures, including the heart. The heart is particularly vulnerable to electrical disturbance, and when the current flows in this manner, it can disrupt normal electrical rhythms, potentially leading to fatal arrhythmias or cardiac arrest. When electricity travels from arm to arm, it creates a pathway that crosses the thoracic cavity, where the heart is located. This increases the risk of the electrical energy affecting the cardiac conduction system, which could induce fibrillation or other severe cardiac complications. Understanding the pathways of electrical current is critical in managing such injuries, as the physiological consequences can vary dramatically depending on the paths taken by the electricity.