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EMT — Airway, Respiration, Ventilation & Cardiology flashcards

10 of 79 cards free to study here · 7 topics · the whole deck is built into Willys

Field-scenario cards on opening and managing the airway, oxygen and BVM ventilation, respiratory emergencies and CPAP, high-quality CPR and AED use, chest pain, nitroglycerin and aspirin assist, and stroke recognition.

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Learn deck · part of NREMT EMT · written against: National EMS Education Standards and NREMT EMT cognitive exam; 2025 AHA Guidelines for CPR and ECC (resuscitation cards fact-checked 2026-10-11 against summaries of the 2025 text). Updated 2026-10-10.

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  1. You find an unresponsive adult supine with snoring respirations and no mechanism for spinal injury. How do you open the airway?
    Use the head-tilt chin-lift: one hand on the forehead tilts the head back while the fingertips lift the bony part of the chin.

    Why: it pulls the tongue off the back of the throat, the usual cause of snoring.
    Airway
  2. Your unresponsive patient fell from a ladder and needs an open airway. Which manual maneuver do you use?
    The jaw-thrust maneuver: from above the head, push the angles of the mandible forward without tilting or turning the neck.

    Watch out: if the jaw thrust does not open the airway, current AHA guidance is to use a head-tilt chin-lift, because an open airway takes priority.
    Airway
  3. A patient breathing at an adequate rate and depth is hypoxic and in distress. Which device gives the highest oxygen concentration without ventilating for them?
    A non-rebreather mask (NRB). Pre-fill the reservoir bag and set the flow so the bag does not fully collapse when the patient inhales.
    Oxygen & Ventilation
  4. When is a nasal cannula the better choice than a non-rebreather?
    When the patient is breathing adequately and needs only low-concentration supplemental oxygen, or cannot tolerate a mask. Titrate to the saturation target in your protocol.
    Oxygen & Ventilation
  5. What separates respiratory distress from respiratory failure?
    In respiratory distress the patient works harder but is still compensating and alert. In respiratory failure compensation is failing: altered mental status, fatigue, poor air movement, falling SpO2 or cyanosis.

    Why: failure needs assisted ventilation, not just oxygen.
    Respiratory Emergencies
  6. A child in respiratory distress for an hour slows from 50 to 16 breaths a minute and becomes sleepy. Is this improvement?
    No — it is impending respiratory arrest. A falling rate with decreasing responsiveness means the child is tiring out. Begin BVM ventilation and transport urgently.
    Respiratory Emergencies
  7. You arrive to find an adult unresponsive, not breathing, with no pulse. What do you do first?
    Start high-quality chest compressions immediately and have your partner bring and attach the AED as soon as it is available.

    Why: every minute without compressions or defibrillation lowers the chance of survival.
    CPR
  8. Which cardiac arrest rhythms will an AED shock?
    Ventricular fibrillation and pulseless ventricular tachycardia. Asystole and pulseless electrical activity (PEA) are not shockable; continue CPR.
    Defibrillation & ROSC
  9. A 58-year-old has crushing chest pressure spreading to the left arm and jaw, with sweating and nausea. What is your field impression?
    Acute coronary syndrome (ACS) — reduced blood flow to the heart muscle. Treat it as a heart attack until proven otherwise.
    Cardiac Emergencies
  10. What three findings make up the Cincinnati Prehospital Stroke Scale?
    Facial droop, arm drift and abnormal speech. Any one abnormal finding makes a stroke likely.
    Stroke & Hypertension

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About these cards

Review status: Second-reader reviewed, with corrections applied.

Checked against:

  • Checked against the National EMS Education Standards (NHTSA, 2021; US government work) and the National EMS Scope of Practice Model (NHTSA, 2019; US government work).
  • CPR and AED content aligned conceptually with the 2025 American Heart Association Guidelines for CPR and Emergency Cardiovascular Care (published October 2025); the compression, ventilation and pad-placement cards were checked against its Part 6: Pediatric Basic Life Support and Part 7: Adult Basic Life Support, with the adult BLS algorithm for health care professionals (reference only; no text copied).
  • Pad placement also checked against the AHA 2025 Interim Training Materials: BLS Provider Manual Changes and ILCOR's 2025 International Consensus on Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and Emergency Cardiovascular Care Science With Treatment Recommendations, Adult Basic Life Support chapter (reference only; no text copied).
  • Hand and body position also checked against the MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia, CPR - adult and child after onset of puberty (US National Library of Medicine; reference only; no text copied).
  • Compressor fatigue checked against Hightower et al. (Annals of Emergency Medicine, 1995) and Ochoa et al. (Resuscitation, 1998) (reference only; no text copied).
  • Oxygen in suspected ACS checked against the 2025 ACC/AHA/ACEP/NAEMSP/SCAI Guideline for the Management of Patients With Acute Coronary Syndromes (Circulation, 2025; reference only; no text copied).

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